The Greatest Promise
by Avatarcatz2323
Summary: The consequences from an accident that happened years ago now threatens to utterly destroy everything that Po, Furious Five, and Shifu know and love, and Tigress' new student finds herself thrown into the middle of the conflict with her life on the line. Set before Kung Fu Panda 3. Sequel to The Greatest Threat (but you don't have to have read it to understand this story!).
1. Cong

_**Rated T for intense scenes. No copyright infringement intended.**_

 **Wow! I'm back! I'm very happy to have come this far. I've really enjoyed writing The Greatest Threat and especially this sequel! I recommend it but please remember that **you don't have to read The Greatest Threat before reading this story to understand it.** :)**

 **I really hope that you enjoy this story! Years of work have gone into this, including several revisions of the plot and various chapters. Of course, constructive criticism is always welcome, and it's always great to hear your thoughts about the story!**

 **I think that's all you need to know for now. Thanks for bearing with me and please enjoy this story! On with the story!**

* * *

Tigress jumped over her feline opponent and landed on its other side. She kicked at the cat and watched as it nimbly dodged the attack and returned it with a fist at Tigress' face. She ducked under its paw and swept her left foot at her opponent's legs in an attempt to trip it. The tan cat back-flipped away, landed smoothly, and pounced back at the Kung Fu warrior. She rolled out of the way and back onto her feet before going at the feline again.

The young cat barely avoided her attack and the warrior's fist brushed past its tan fur. It tried to kick Tigress away but she dodged its foot and kicked back at it, hitting her opponent and sending the cat off of its feet. The tan feline grunted as it landed ungracefully on its back. Using its backward momentum, the mountain cat skillfully rolled onto its feet just in time for Tigress to hit her opponent again.

The cat blocked Tigress' foot with its arm and growled. The warrior snarled back and continued throwing precise attacks at the cougar, who blocked every hit with either its arms and hands or its legs and feet, stepping back with every other hit that Tigress made. When she finally had the young cat backed against a tree, Tigress performed a spinning kick. Her opponent tried to back up further before realizing that it couldn't.

Tigress purposefully slowed the speed of her foot just before it hit her opponent's side, knocking the female cougar over and causing her to slide on the ground and into a pile of snow with a loud, "Oomph!"

"You need to work on your awareness," Tigress advised her, walking over to her and extending a helping hand.

"Yeah, thanks," she replied, gratefully accepting her mentor's help to get back on her feet. She rubbed her side and brushed the light snow off of her fur.

"Are you okay?" Tigress asked her.

"Yes," she replied.

"Nice training!"

They turned to see Po walking over to them. "That was pretty intense to watch!" he continued. "You're getting better, Zhen!"

The cougar smiled at the compliment as she swept the last flakes of snow from her shoulders with her hand. "Thanks, Po."

Zhen had joined the Furious Five and Dragon Warrior at the Jade Palace a little more than four months ago. She was a twelve-year-old cougar and an orphan; her parents had been captured and killed by the Crimson Knights, an evil group that the warriors had defeated around the same time they had met Zhen. They had eventually accepted her as a student and Tigress had been training her at the Jade Palace since then. She had picked up her training eagerly and learned very quickly.

"Dinner will be ready soon," Po informed the two cats. "The noodles are almost done cooking! Speaking of which, I had better go check on them. See you guys soon!"

The mentor and student thanked Po as he left. Zhen turned to Tigress, amusement sparkling in her ice-blue eyes. "Has he always loved food this much?"

"You have no idea," she answered her, smirking.

Zhen laughed.

Glancing at the lowering sun, Tigress told her, "You're free to do whatever you want until dinner. If you leave the Palace, make sure that you're back in time. Po doesn't like to wait when it comes to food."

"Thanks, Tigress!" she exclaimed.

The tiger smiled at her as she ran off, out of the Jade Palace gates and down into the Valley of Peace.

* * *

Zhen bounded down the Thousand Steps and into the village on all fours. She straightened to stand on her back paws and slowed as she reached the bottom, not wanting to knock anything over. Looking at the sun, she guessed that she had about ten minutes before she would have to be back at the palace for dinner.

She looked around, searching for something entertaining to do. She began wandering through the valley, exchanging greetings with everyone that she passed.

Finally deciding that there wasn't much to do at the moment, Zhen ventured out of the valley, soon finding herself at the wide, fast river not too far but out of sight from where the village was. Sighing with content, she brushed the snow off of flat rock by the river and sat on it, letting her feet dangle close to the water's surface. She smiled as the cool watery spray from the rushing water hit her feet, shivering slightly from the cold of winter.

A loud _crack!_ suddenly sounded and she abruptly stood, searching the woods on the other side of the river with her eyes. The noise had obviously resulted from a large branch breaking.

"Who's there?" she questioned, getting into a battle position; bandits often littered the areas outside of the valley.

"There's no need to be afraid."

Zhen's eyes immediately turned to where the casual voice had come from and she was surprised when she saw a white-ish fox on the other side of the river. Spotting him was a bit difficult, as his fur blended in very well to the snow around him except for the slightly brown portions of his pelt. He was standing next to a tree, just a few feet away from the river's edge. He looked to be around Zhen's age, maybe a little older, and stood a few inches taller than her.

"Who are you?" she asked him, relaxing only slightly. Tigress always told her to never underestimate anyone.

"My name is Cong. What's yours?" he returned. His expression and tone suggested that he was friendly and meant no harm.

Deciding that there was no danger in telling him, she answered. "Zhen is my name."

He smiled slightly, but she thought that saw a glimmer of triumph in his eyes before it disappeared. "Cool name."

"Thanks…" She was unsure of what to think of him. Still in a fighting stance, she watched him as he leapt gracefully across the river, landing on her side of it a couple yards away from her.

He approached her. "Seriously, I don't want to hurt you or anything. You can relax. Do I look like a bandit to you?"

Zhen looked him up and down, from his brown tunic and black pants to his bare feet. Determining that he certainly didn't look like he would attack, she slowly got out of her fighting stance, though she was still ready to get back into it if needed.

His smile widened. "So, what do you like to do for fun?" He sat down next to the river.

She cautiously sat as well, still slightly tense. They were still a few feet apart. "Kung Fu. What about you?"

"Sword fighting is my forte," he replied. "Have you ever learned how to fight with a sword?"

"No, not really." She glanced at the river. "How good are you at swimming?"

He chuckled. "Not all that great. You?"

She smirked. "I love swimming."

"Even in cold rivers?"

"As long as it's deep enough, then sure."

He gave her a look of mild disbelief. "What, were you born in the water or something?"

She chuckled. "No. I just love water."

"Are you good at climbing?"

"Yeah."

His blue eyes sparkled with playful mischief. "How about a race?"

"What?" She stared at him curiously.

"A competition to see who's better at climbing," he clarified. "Let's say," he paused, looking around. "Up that tree?" He pointed at one on their side of the river. Zhen estimated that it was about 17 feet tall. "First to the top wins," he finished.

"What does the winner get?" she inquired.

"Hmm… how about just the bragging rights of beating the other person?" he responded, shrugging.

"Fine by me," she agreed, standing.

They walked to the base of the tree. There were hardly any leaves, but plenty of branches to use to get to the top quickly. Zhen plotted her course as her eyes traveled up the trunk to the skinny top.

"Three!" Cong started.

Zhen crouched and prepared to spring.

"Two!"

She glanced at him, seeing that he was in a similar position.

"One!"

She returned her attention to the tree, focusing her mind on the task at hand the way she was trained to for Kung Fu.

"Go!"

Zhen darted to the tree, got a good grip on it, and started to scale it. She worked as fast as she could, smiling as her confidence grew. She realized that the top was getting really close and knew that she was going to win. Just as her paw reached the top, however, she noticed that there was already one there. Pulling herself the rest of the way up, she panted slightly from the quick workout. She and Cong both shifted their weight to balance with the slightly swaying treetop.

"Great race!" Cong congratulated. "You're pretty fast!"

"Thanks," Zhen replied. "You're very fast too!" She looked at the ground below. It seemed pretty far away from where she was standing. She turned her gaze back to him. "How did you do that?"

"What?"

"Climb so fast!"

He shrugged. "I've always loved to climb stuff. Even when I was little I would climb tall trees like this one. Obviously not as fast as now, but you get the idea."

She nodded, watching him as he settled onto one of the few sturdy branches at the top of the tree. "How come I've never seen you around before?" she asked him.

She noticed that his expression was guarded as he answered. "I'm kind of the traveling type. You know, just visiting places, not really settling down anywhere specific."

"You travel alone?" she inquired, incredulous. He was only a little older than her! Even she knew that he shouldn't be traveling on his own at such a young age, especially with all of the bandits lurking around.

"No," he replied quickly, seeing her expression. "I travel with a group."

"Oh. What are they like?"

"Rough around the edges, but they're fine. They're kind of all I've got right now." His demeanor changed as soon as he said those words as if he hadn't meant to say them. He seemed… sad and angry at the same time.

"It's okay," she assured him, smiling. "I know the feeling."

Cong looked at Zhen as though he didn't believe her. "Really?"

"Yeah," she responded. "I'm kind of in a similar situation."

"I've never met someone like me," he said, so quietly that she wasn't sure if he'd meant to say it out loud.

"Well, we're never alone," she told him. It was something that the Five and Po had taught her.

"What do you mean?" He seemed genuinely curious.

"Well, I know that my family is always here for me, even when they're not around… It's hard to explain." She gave a small sigh. "I don't know how to explain it, actually."

"That's okay. I think I know what you mean," he told her.

Zhen felt relieved that she didn't have to try and explain it further.

She was about to settle on one of the top branches of the tree when she realized that the sun was almost set. "Oh no!" she exclaimed.

"What's wrong?" Cong asked, a look of concern on his face.

"I have to get home. I lost track of time!" She told him while starting down the tree. "I'll see you later!"

"Wait!" he called, following her down.

She stopped and looked back at him when she was on the ground. "What?"

"Will you meet me here tomorrow?" he questioned, his expression one of hope as his paws hit the snow.

"Maybe. I don't know," she confessed hurriedly. "It depends on when Tigre—er, my mentor lets me be done with my training. Bye!"

She ran back toward the village, pausing briefly to glance back at Cong, who had a smile on his face as he waved.

"I'll see you later then! Bye!" he called after her.

She smiled back and turned to look forward again. She had to get home before Tigress realized that she had been gone too late. She ran as fast as her legs would carry her on all fours, which was quite fast. She blurred past several rabbits and pigs on her way to the many stairs leading up to the Palace. With a deep breath, she started up them, taking them three at a time. She was panting by the time she reached the top.

Zhen skidded to a stop just in time to not run into Tigress, who had her arms crossed as she looked down at the cowering cougar.

"Why were you late?" Her tone wasn't threatening or comforting. Zhen attempted in vain to read her expression, but she couldn't tell if she was angry or not.

"I lost track of time," Zhen admitted. "I'm sorry."

Tigress held out a paw to Zhen, who looked up at her in surprise. She wasn't mad? Zhen took her paw and she helped her to her feet.

"What were you doing?" she inquired, her tone holding a bit of curiosity.

The young mountain cat began to smile. "I met someone new, on the outskirts of the Valley!" she told her excitedly. "His name is Cong and he's a white fox."

"Are you sure he's not a bandit or something?" she pressed.

"I'm sure," she reassured. "We had a race up a tree. He won, but it was still a lot of fun."

Tigress smiled. "Well, I'm glad that you're making friends. Come on, we don't want to keep Po waiting for too much longer."

They walked side-by-side into the Palace. Zhen glanced back at the palace gates and did a double take. Did she just see someone at the top of the stairs? But as she looked back again, there was no shadow there. She shook her head to clear it and continued inside, concluding that she must have imagined the figure.

* * *

 **Yay! Chapter one is complete! Please review and let me know what you think! Constructive criticism is welcomed. It's so good to be back. =D**

 **Updates will come every Monday!**

 **Have a wonderful day/night, everyone!**


	2. Bandits

**Here's chapter two! It has a bit of excitement. Oh, and for those wondering, this story takes place before Kung Fu Panda 3. Enjoy! =D**

* * *

It had already been two weeks since Zhen had met Cong. They had gotten to know each other very well and were practically best friends. Zhen found that he was a bit secretive about his family, but in turn she didn't tell him much about the Five, Po, or Master Shifu. For some reason she couldn't identify, she didn't feel comfortable with releasing that information to him.

"Alright, your training is over for today," Tigress told her student, smiling. "You're improving your kicks and awareness very well."

"Thank you, Master Tigress." Zhen bowed respectfully to her. She couldn't help but feel and look excited as she looked back up at her mentor. "May I…?" Her voice trailed off, knowing that Tigress knew what she meant.

"Yes," she replied, amusement in her eyes. "Just be back before sundown."

"I will!" Zhen called over her shoulder as she ran to the top of the Thousand Steps.

She bounded down them quickly, excited to again meet with Cong. She made her way through her usual route to the river, where she hoped Cong was waiting.

Sure enough, the corsac fox was already by the side of the river. He grinned when he saw Zhen coming.

"Hi, Zhen!" he called to her as she finally reached him.

She stood up in front of him. "Hi, Cong!" she returned, noticing that his hands were behind his back. "What are you doing?"

His smile turned a bit sheepish. "Um, I was wondering, that, if you want to, since Kung Fu is so cool, if I taught you some sword moves, you could teach me some of your Kung Fu moves," he suggested, revealing a pair of Dao swords as he brought his hands forward.

"Whoa," Zhen breathed, her eyes widening with awe as she gazed at the shiny weapons.

Both swords were identical to each other. The blade was silver and about two feet long, and the edge looked recently sharpened. The guard was round like a circle and had a golden sheen to it, providing a nice contrast to the black-colored cord that wrapped around the hilt, which was slightly curved outward.

"Here, I brought one for each of us," Cong continued, holding one out to his friend. Zhen's reaction seemed to boost his confidence.

"Wow." Zhen carefully accepted the sword and was surprised by how light it was. She smiled as she gripped the hilt, examining the blade with piqued curiosity. After a moment, she looked back at Cong. "Are you sure about this? These are pretty sharp."

He chuckled. "You're a Kung Fu warrior," he stated. "Haven't you done any training with swords or weapons?"

"I've tried a staff before," she answered, purposefully neglecting to tell him how bad it went. "But Kung Fu itself isn't usually done with swords. We use our body as our weapon."

"Oh," he replied, before grinning. "Well, as long as you're careful, you shouldn't cut your tail off."

"Ha, ha." She stuck her tongue out at him. "You should show me what you can do with it first, and then I'll try it."

"Deal."

He took a few steps away from her and brought his sword backward, getting into a stance. Just as he was about to strike with it, however, the loud ringing of a distant gong sounded. Cong paused as Zhen's ears suddenly perked up and her posture went rigid.

"What's wrong?" he asked, noticing her troubled expression as she looked in the direction of the village.

"I have to go," she said quickly, carefully handing the sword back to him. "I'm really sorry, but we'll have to do this tomorrow or some other time. Those swords are really cool."

"What? Wait, why?" He was thoroughly confused now as he watched Zhen start to back up towards the Valley.

"I can't explain right now. See you later!" And with that, she turned and started running on all fours to the Valley of Peace, leaving an astonished Cong behind in the dust.

* * *

"Bandits! Bandits are approaching the North Village!" Zeng's panicked voice shouted as the Kung Fu warriors gathered at the ringing of the gong.

Within seconds, the Five, Po, and Master Shifu arrived in the Jade Palace courtyard.

"Crane," Tigress said, "Zhen is by the river."

He took to the air immediately. "I'm on i—"

"I'm here!" Zhen appeared through the front courtyard gate, panting from her sprint. "I heard the gong… What's up?"

"Bandits are approaching the North Village," Po answered excitedly as Crane landed back on the ground.

"Go!" Shifu ordered, using his staff for emphasis as he pointed it towards the Thousand Steps. "Hurry!"

The warriors sprang into action and were to the bottom of the stairs in a matter of seconds. Various pigs, rabbits and geese caught sight of them and made a clear path, cheering and applauding for their heroes as they passed by.

"I could get used to this!" Zhen stated happily, grinning from ear to ear and getting smiles from the others in response.

They quickly exited the Valley of Peace and made their way through the mountainous terrain to the north.

A few minutes into their relatively short journey, Tigress ran at Zhen's side and got the cougar's attention.

"Are you ready for your first fight?" Tigress asked, smiling as her student's eyes widened.

"Are you serious?" Zhen exclaimed in response, thrilled to the point that she almost tripped; normally the warriors had her stand back and observe because of her comparative lack of experience and skill. "Yes!"

"Alright, yeah!" Po cheered, pumping his fist in the air.

"Since this is your first real fight," Tigress explained, "I'll stay right by you to help you if you need it. Don't engage more than one enemy at once."

"Okay!" Zhen replied, glancing at the others in pure excitement. They all returned her smile with wide ones of their own.

* * *

"Look out!" Mantis called, jumping behind Po just in time to intercept an arrow. Landing on the ground a moment later, he snapped the shaft in half and tossed it away as he turned to confront another enemy.

"Thanks, Mantis!" Po said, delivering a finishing kick to his opponent that sent the crocodile to the ground.

The bandits were evidently just a band of pilfering crocodiles that were desperate for anything valuable they could get their claws on. They were far from professional, which made the battle rather easy for the experienced warriors. Zhen, however, was having a fair bit of trouble with the reptile that she was up against.

"Rah!" she shouted with a growl, attempting to punch the croc.

He easily dodged the attack and brandished his big hammer at her in return. Zhen ducked under the horizontal swing and swept his feet out from under him with her leg. His grip faltered on the hammer as he fell and it landed on top of him, knocking the wind out of him as it did so.

Zhen stood triumphantly above him and, hearing something behind her, turned just in time to jump out of the way of a swinging longsword.

The approaching bandit narrowed his eyes at the little cougar and charged at her with an angry yell. She backed up quickly and noticed the first croc getting up and picking up his hammer. Turning her attention back to the second, sword-wielding reptile, Zhen forced her fear from her face and waited until he was a foot away to launch herself over him and land behind the first croc, kicking at his back. He saw her coming and whirled around to face her, seeing her foot just in time to jump back out of the way. He thrust his hammer at her and she dodged backward, fear striking her when she suddenly bumped into a wall that she hadn't previously noticed was so close to her.

"Yah!"

The sudden war-cry of an angry tiger split the air as Tigress appeared out of nowhere and landed on top of the hammer bandit, twisting and using her legs and momentum to send him head-first into the hard ground. She flipping to her feet and gave the last croc a glare that could kill. Glancing at Zhen, Tigress gave her a subtle signal to attack with her.

Mentor and student both rushed at the bandit, who, to his credit, was incredulously brave for not running away. He swung his sword horizontally at the attacking felines with a shout. Zhen slid under it and Tigress jumped over the weapon and the crocodile watched helplessly as he was tripped and then promptly landed on, releasing his longsword upon impact and groaning.

Tigress jumped off of him and both she and Zhen watched as he scurried to his feet to retreat with the rest of the bandits, all of them empty-handed thanks to the warriors.

"Thanks, Tigress," Zhen said gratefully, giving her mentor a sheepish smile.

"Keep working on your awareness," Tigress advised, her tone friendly as she returned her student's smile. "You'll get it someday if you keep trying."

Zhen's smile broadened to a grin and she resisted the urge to give Tigress a hug as the residents of the village appeared from their hiding places and cheered loudly for the warriors, thanking them over and over again.

Po accepted the many thanks for them and they soon left to head back to their home.

"Great job, guys!" Po congratulated. "We delivered justice on a silver platter to those crocs!"

"It's about time we had some excitement," Mantis commented. "There hasn't been any other attacks for the last few weeks!"

"Which is a _good_ thing," Viper reminded him, giving him a look.

"I know, I know." He raised his raptorial arms in self-defense. "I was just getting bored, that's all."

They walked in silence until Po's stomach disrupted it with a loud rumble.

"What?" he defended as everyone gave him a humorous, pointed look. "We haven't had dinner yet!"

"Race you guys home!" Zhen yelled, launching forward and running on all fours.

"Oh, you're on!" Mantis accepted, rushing forward with the little cougar.

Everyone immediately started sprinting, all eager to beat the others and all of them laughing along the way, especially as they tried to slow one another down.

Soon enough, the Valley of Peace was in sight and the competition increased in intensity.

"See you slowpokes later!" Crane called from the air, gaining the advantage thanks to not having to climb the Steps.

"Hey, no fair!" Po protested, using a small structure to jump into the air. With a shout, he managed to grab onto Crane's legs before the bird could get out of reach.

"Po!" Crane accused, trying in vain to shake the heavy panda off. "Let go! Neither of us can win if you hang on to me!"

"Here I come!" Zhen announced, using a similar method as Po to launch herself into the air. She grabbed on to Po and, once she got her footing, used him to climb up and onto Crane's back, causing the poor bird to give her a look that was between bewilderment and pleading.

"Sorry, Po, but I want to win!" Zhen gave Po's grasping fingers a light kick, causing him to let go and fall the six feet to the ground, where Tigress caught him and helped him roll back to his feet to keep running.

"Zhen, you cheater!" Po exclaimed, half in shock and half in friendly anger.

The cougar responded by laughing and held on tight as her mount sped up.

"I get what you're doing now." Crane smirked. "But it won't work!"

He flew several feet over the stairs and suddenly spun in a corkscrew, flinging Zhen from his back. She gave a surprised yelp and, by instinct, twisted in the air to land harmlessly on all fours.

"Hey!" she yelled after him, scrambling up the last two hundred stairs towards the top. She noticed happily that, besides Crane, she was in the lead with the others having just started up the Thousand Steps. Despite being so far behind, though, they were gaining on her rapidly.

She couldn't help but laugh as she finally reached the top and dramatically tackled a previously triumphant but now shocked Crane to the ground.

The rest of the warriors reached the top quickly, with Po lagging behind, and found Zhen and Crane in a jumbled, wrestling mess. Monkey, Viper and Mantis promptly burst into laughter and Tigress gave an amused smile at the strange sight.

"Made it!" Po announced triumphantly, panting hard as he finally reached the top and promptly flopped onto his back. "Oh man… stairs…"

Zhen and Crane finally stop wrestling and the former fell into a fit of laughter as the latter bluntly dusted off his wings.

"That was uncalled for," he commented, only getting more giggles in response.

Po was back on his feet a moment later and looked from Zhen to Crane and back again. "What did I miss?"

Mantis was about to answer, but Po's growling stomach redirected the panda's attention in a split second. He sniffed the air and his eyes widened with excitement.

"I smell dumplings!" he exclaimed and ran past the others to get to the Palace, his previous Panda-asthma apparently forgotten.

The remaining warriors and student all chuckled and followed the Dragon Warrior inside, unaware that they were being watched from a faraway treetop.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think and of any mistakes in a review!**

 **Have a fantastic day/night!**


	3. The Traveler's Village

**Enjoy! Things get a bit more… exciting this chapter. ;)**

* * *

"One more time," Tigress instructed. "Don't look directly at it."

Zhen nodded in understanding. Trying to place all of her concentration on the tree that was in her peripheral vision while staring ahead, she quickly judged the distance between it and her body. She then turned and sent a roundhouse kick toward it, aiming for the center of the trunk. She hit her target a few inches from the middle, the impact being just hard enough to send bits of bark in a few directions.

"Good," Tigress approved, smiling.

Zhen grinned at her, silently cheering at her victory; she had been working on judging distance and such for quite some time now and she was happy to finally be getting it.

"Are you going to visit Cong today?" Tigress asked.

"Yeah," she answered happily. "May I go now?"

"Yes," she replied.

"Thanks!" Zhen gave a quick bow to her master and started for the river.

"Be careful!" Tigress called after her student.

"I will!" she responded, already starting down the stairs.

It didn't take long to reach the river, where Cong was already waiting.

"Hey, Zhen!" he greeted excitedly, but Zhen noticed that his smile seemed forced.

"Hi, Cong!" Zhen returned, picking up that something wasn't right. "Are you okay?"

He sighed and dropped his façade, his smile leaving with it. "My family found out that I had brought the swords yesterday and they wouldn't let me bring them again. Said it was too dangerous."

"Oh," Zhen sympathized. "Well, that's okay—wait, you weren't supposed to bring them yesterday?" She stared at him in surprise.

His expression sunk with guilt. "I know, I should've obeyed them, but no harm came from it, right? I just wanted to show you something cool."

She looked at him with uncertainty. "Well… they were pretty cool."

He perked up a bit and smiled a little. "They _did_ say that we could still train with them and such if we do it under their supervision."

Zhen frowned as an uneasy feeling settled into the pit of her stomach. "You mean, go to where you live?"

"Yeah!" he confirmed happily, unaware of his friend's inner conflict. "It's only a few minutes away from here if we run."

"But I don't know your family," Zhen stated, trying to think of why she felt so bad about this seemingly harmless idea. "And I'd need to ask mine if I could go."

"My family's the one that invited you!" Cong reminded her. "And if you're worried about getting there safely, the trail is clear and I travel back and forth on it alone every day. Plus, bandits aren't going to want anything from a couple of kids."

"I don't know, Cong." Zhen glanced in the direction of the Valley. "It just doesn't feel right. And I'd most likely be late getting home." She wanted to go and meet Cong's family and the logic of what he was saying combatted her uneasiness, making the decision rather difficult for the young cat.

He deflated. "I already told my family that they'd get to meet you, though. They were really excited."

"Well…" She hesitated. If she travelled all the way back up to the Palace to ask Tigress, then she would surely not have time to go with Cong tonight. "What about tomorrow?"

"My family's pretty busy," Cong replied. "I don't know if they'll have time tomorrow."

She closed her eyes and sighed, finally making her choice. She opened her eyes again and looked at her hopeful friend. "Okay. But I've got to be back by sundown or my family will get worried."

"Awesome!" he cheered. "Let's go then!"

"Okay!" His energy fed into hers and she pushed away the unsettling feeling, knowing that she could trust Cong. And if something _did_ go wrong, she was confident that she and Cong together could get out of any trouble.

Cong started off towards the river on all fours and, once he reached the edge, leapt over the two yards of rushing water and landed easily on the other side with Zhen close behind. He led Zhen through the trees to a snowy trail that, true to his word, was easily distinguishable thanks to the lack of foliage for a few feet on either side of it and the various pawprints throughout the snow. Following the road south, Zhen soon caught sight of a small town in the distance.

She glanced at Cong as that annoyingly uneasy feeling resurfaced. She started to think twice about her hasty decision to go with him.

"We're almost there!" he announced, giving her a grin before returning his attention to the trail.

Zhen shook the feeling away and continued to follow him, neither of them aware of the figures watching them from the trees.

"How many… do you have… in your family?" she asked, a bit breathless from constant running.

"Eight," he answered, enjoying her shocked reaction.

"That's a lot!" she exclaimed. "Although, I guess… that there's seven… in mine."

Cong laughed. He looked ahead and slowed down, Zhen following suit as they finally reached the village entrance.

"Welcome to my home!" Cong announced happily, gesturing wide with his arm for emphasis.

"Cool," Zhen replied, grinning. "It reminds me a lot of the Valley of Peace." Looking around, she noticed with curiosity that there weren't a lot of villagers out and about and that, instead of a lot of small houses, most of the buildings were larger and appeared to be inns of some sort.

"Yeah… I guess that small villages have a lot in common in looks." He chuckled. "My house is this way."

Zhen thought back to everything she'd heard about his family; how they travelled a lot but had recently decided to settle for a while, that his adoptive father had taken him in and raised him since he was a pup, and that the members of his family were almost all different species.

"Here we are!" Cong stated, bringing his friend out of her thoughts.

Zhen looked up at the small house, which looked very similar to those in the Valley of Peace with its stone walls and simple, wooden roof.

She turned and gave Cong a quizzical look. " _Everyone_ in your family lives here?"

He gave another chuckle. "It's bigger than it looks. Come on, I'll show you."

He walked up to the door and reached for the handle, but hesitated just long enough for Zhen to notice.

"Cong?" She tilted her head curiously.

He glanced at her and she was surprised by the mixture of guilt and fear in his eyes. His breathing had accelerated, like he was starting to panic, and his hand lowered away from the door.

"What's wrong?" Zhen's fur stood on end and her ears perked up. Suddenly, that uneasy feeling from earlier didn't seem so misplaced anymore as it came back in full force.

She took a step away from him as he turned to face her, his expression now fully guarded.

"I'm really sorry," he whispered. "I don't want to do this."

"Do what? Cong, what's going on?" She glanced around anxiously. "What are you talking about?"

He took a small object out of his pocket and held it up to his mouth. Zhen realized that it was a small whistle as he blew into it for a few seconds, sending a high-pitched tone into the air that made her flinch.

Abruptly, several animals dropped from the trees around the village and ran towards the center, where Zhen and Cong happened to be. Her mind reeling with questions and terror, Zhen turned back to Cong only to discover that he had disappeared.

"Cong!" she shouted angrily, stepping forward and banging on the closed door. Her emotions were a confused mess as she about-faced to look at the bandits who were now standing in front of her, trapping her in between them and the house.

She stared at the black-clad animals of all shapes and sizes, trying to calm down enough to think of a plan as they stalked toward her with their malicious grins. She caught sight of the alarm gong a good four yards away and knew that it was her only chance of letting Tigress and the others know that something was wrong.

Taking a deep breath and getting a desperate idea, she suddenly acted shocked and pointed to the high left with a gasp. "Look out!" she yelled.

Her little plan worked and all six of the bandits turned in alarm to look in the direction that she had pointed. Taking advantage of their brief distraction, Zhen darted forward and launched herself over the bandit closest to her, landing on their other side gracefully. The animal shouted at her as she sprinted forward on all fours, her adrenaline pushing her forward. She heard their pounding footsteps gaining on her but didn't dare look back, knowing that such an action could cost her her freedom, or worse.

She was just in reach of the gong when she felt something wrap around her back left leg and pull her backward, tripping her. She caught herself with her hands but still hit the ground hard.

"No!" She growled as her outstretched claws barely scratched the shiny, metal surface of the gong. She flipped onto her back and kicked at the whip that was wrapped around her leg, effectively getting it off just as the whip-wielding bandit pounced at her.

"Yah!" Zhen yelled, twisting and kicking at her attacker. She laid the hit and the leopard bandit was sent head-first into the gong.

Zhen grimaced at the volume of the gong but was so grateful for its ringing as she got up, panting from adrenaline. Spotting the mallet nearby, she grabbed it and hit the gong again and again, knowing that her time was up as the rest of the bandits finally reached her and tackled her to the ground.

* * *

"Come on, Po!" Viper encouraged.

"You can do it, Monkey!" Crane chimed in.

"Don't give up!" Tigress urged.

"The suspense is too much!" Mantis exclaimed, putting his raptorial arms over his head anxiously.

Po was facing Monkey in an extremely intense competition, which was to see who could balance a bean bun on their nose the longest. So far, they had both been going for three minutes straight without faltering. Neither competitor dared to speak for fear that their bean bun would be wobbled off balance and fall.

"Don't buckle under the pressure!"

"Keep at it!"

"Watch your balance!"

"It's starting to tip! Lean the other way!"

"Just a little longer!"

"It's starting to tip again!"

Suddenly feeling the urge to sneeze, Po held his breath to hold the awful feeling back. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore and sneezed loudly, sending his bean bun through the air and right into Monkey's bean bun, causing both to fall to the ground behind Monkey.

"Aw, Po!" Monkey whined. "Now we have to rematch!"

Po rubbed his nose and sniffed with a slightly embarrassed chuckle. "Whoops."

"What a rip-off!" Mantis pouted. "And to think I was looking forward to the ending."

"Well, the next time we do this, I'm gonna serve you humiliation on a silver platter of shame!" Po claimed.

"Ha!" Monkey sneered. "The only contest you could win against me is an eating contest."

"We'll see about that!" Po challenged.

The sudden ringing of a somewhat distant gong immediately drew their attention. As expected, a moment later Zeng appeared, breathless from his apparent hurry.

"The Traveler's Village!" he panted. "Bandits!"

"Zhen is by the river," Tigress started, but Crane was already in the air.

"I'm on it!" he announced, quickly flying towards the aforementioned destination.

"Let's serve some justice!" Po exclaimed, punching one fist into his other, open hand.

The warriors instantly set out down the stairs just as Shifu arrived next to Zeng. His nod of approval was seen only by Tigress, who glanced back upon hearing his soft footsteps. She was confused, however, by the mixed look of trepidation and even concern in his eyes as he watched them go.

Tigress blinked in surprise and returned her attention to the mission at hand.

Soon enough, they reached the bottom of the stairs and ran through the cheering village. Crane flew up alongside them as they exited the Valley, his expression worried.

"She's not there!" he told them, glancing at Tigress as he spoke.

"What?" Po exclaimed. "We have to find her!"

"No," Tigress interrupted, surprising her friends. "The mission is our first priority."

"But—"

She cut him off again. "She can handle herself while we protect the village."

He seemed ready to argue, but one look at her determined expression silenced whatever retort he had and he turned to focus on where he was putting his feet as they ran.

Tigress shared a knowing look with the rest of the Five and knew that they understood her decision; the last time they had delayed a mission was years ago, and almost an entire village had been destroyed because of it. The Five had sworn to each other from that day that they would never let that happen again, and it was something that even Po didn't know about.

"I wonder what bandits would want with the Traveler's Village," Mantis commented. "It's mainly just a pit stop for travelers anyway."

"Whatever the reason is, they won't get far," Tigress stated as she ran on all fours through the snow.

Soon enough, the village came into view, as well as the chaos that bandits often brought with them. This time, however, something was different.

"Zhen!" Crane suddenly shouted, gaining the other warriors attention immediately.

"What?" they responded in unison.

"She's here!" he announced with panic. "She's being attacked!"

None of them had any idea why the cougar was here, but that was all that Tigress needed to hear to run ahead and leave the others behind as they attempted to catch up to her furious speed.

Using the strength of all four limbs, Tigress ignored the village entrance and launched herself into the air to land smoothly on the rooftop of a two-story inn. She was aware of her friends a small distance behind her as she jumped from building to building. Looking ahead, she easily spotted the small swarm of black-clad bandits and focused on the struggling figure in the middle. Getting closer, Tigress watched in horror as one of the bandits, a wolf by shape and appearance, knocked Zhen out with a quick hit to the head with the hilt of a Dao sword.

Tigress had trained practically all of her life to keep her emotions, especially her anger, under control. But now, and not for the first time, she struggled to contain her fury as her student was carelessly shoved into a black bag just as Tigress reached them.

With a roar that shook the trees, she pounced off of a roof and took out one surprised bandit by landing on him. Her fellow warriors arrived at nearly the same time and swiftly defeated four more, leaving the remaining bandit, the wolf, to panic and sprint off towards the exit, the black bag swinging over her shoulder as she did so.

Zeroing in on the canine, Tigress charged after her target and closed the two-yard gap quickly as they exited the village. Now within two feet of the bandit, Tigress launched herself at the wolf with her claws outstretched. In her determination to catch the bandit, however, Tigress saw the incoming rhino too late and was hit sideways with a painful impact that sent her rolling across the snowy grass and into a large tree. She gasped for the breath that had been forced from her lungs and clutched her side, looking up as her attacker lit a stick of dynamite with a quick movement and threw it the three yards at the downed tiger.

Tigress' eyes widened and her anger dissipated as she attempted to get up, but the pain from her bruised side caused her to slip in the snow and forced her back down. She looked up as the small explosive reached her and the sparks neared the end of the fuse. Abruptly, a green blur shot past her and hit the dynamite when it was mere inches away, sending it high into the air where it exploded harmlessly.

Tigress took a deep breath and noticed with dismay that the bandits were long gone.

"Tigress!" several voices yelled in unison.

She carefully got up as her friends reached her, their expressions riddled with worry. Tigress stifled a wince as her side throbbed.

"I know I said earlier that I was bored, but this wasn't quite the excitement I had in mind," Mantis commented from his spot next to Tigress, who now realized that it was him who had deflected the dynamite.

"Are you okay?" Viper asked with concern.

"I'm fine, but Zhen definitely isn't," Tigress replied quickly. "We need to track those bandits down."

"First, we need to let Shifu know what's going on," Viper reminded them.

"I'll get a village messenger to do it," Crane agreed, taking to the air and gliding back into town.

The remaining warriors started searching around the area for clues to figure out which way the bandits fled. It didn't take long to find what they were looking for.

"There are tracks over here!" Monkey announced.

The others rushed over just as Crane returned. Sure enough, several pairs of running pawprints led off of the road and into the surrounding forest, heading East.

Tigress' eyes narrowed in determination as she glanced at the approaching storm clouds. "Let's go."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think in a review! Also, if you spotted any errors in this chapter, please let me know! =D**

 _ **Huge**_ **thanks goes to my two reviewers! It's nice to know that at least some people like my story. You guys are great! =)**

 **Have a great day/night, everyone!**


	4. The Fuchou

_**Huge**_ **thanks to my amazing reviewers! You guys definitely help to keep this story going. =D**

* * *

The wind howled and the flurries of snow made it difficult to see the already-white terrain. Night was approaching fast, making it even harder to track the bandits' fading trail. The Kung Fu warriors all held their arms in front of their faces to shield their eyes from the attacking snowflakes as they trudged through the foot of accumulated snow that covered the ground. Crane was walking alongside his friends with his hat tucked under a wing, the wind too strong to allow him to fly. Viper simply squinted and slithered on top of the snow behind Po, the panda's bulk protecting her from the majority of the assaulting frozen water falling from the sky. Mantis had chosen to ride on Po's shoulder to avoid the depth of snow.

The storm had hit them shortly after they started tracking the bandits North, and the surrounding forests and begun to turn into mountainous terrain. They had traveled over a mile by now and hurried despite the blinding wind and snow, knowing that they would catch the bandits soon if they moved fast enough.

"I see something!" Monkey announced, pointing.

The others' eyes all followed his finger to see a towering cliff several yards away. The rough surface stretched hundreds of feet upwards, but there was a noticeable circle of blackness about a couple yards up.

"It looks like a cave," Mantis shouted over the wind.

The warriors all exchanged quick glances before making their decision; no one would survive long out in the biting cold of a raging, worsening blizzard.

"Let's go!" Tigress commanded, immediately heading towards it. She quickly checked the tracks to remember the direction the bandits were headed before returning her attention to their means of shelter ahead, holding back a wince as her bruised side objected to the swift movement.

The others all followed her lead and, with moderate difficulty, finally reached their destination. Tigress first launched Po up to the cave for him to check it out. Upon hearing his approval of the shelter, they all made their way swiftly into the medium-sized cavern.

Tigress looked out at the billowing blizzard from the safety of the cave as she shivered from the bitter cold. "Looks like we'll have to wait out the storm," she decided. "The bandits can't get far in this weather anyway."

* * *

The first thing Zhen noticed was the throbbing pain in her head. The next was the fact that she was surrounded by darkness, and the last thing she realized was that she had been kidnapped as the latest events rushed back into her memory. She fought back the tears that threatened to spill over and instead tried to focus on her situation and what she could do about it.

She could feel the cold, rough floor beneath her and deduced that she was probably in some sort of cave, or at least that's what the ground felt like. Feeling around in the darkness, she discovered that her hands were tied together behind her back with rope and her left ankle had some sort of metal clasp on it. Tugging on the restraint, she found that her foot was apparently chained to a wall with about a foot's length of chain. Moving around as much as her bonds would allow, she could feel three solid, rock walls around her and what felt like dented, metal bars in front of her. She tried to jump to test where the ceiling was, but she didn't even touch it and almost tripped from the action thanks to the chain. Adding everything together, she was chained in a four-by-four prison cell with no easy way of escape.

She kicked lightly with her left leg to test the strength of the chain and figured out how far she could move away with it. She wondered why they had used rope to tie her hands and not some stronger material, but decided that she'd just take advantage of the mistake and yanked her hands away from each other with as much strength as she dared use. With a loud _snap!_ the now-broken rope fell uselessly to the stone floor.

Rubbing her sore wrists, Zhen perked her ears for the softest of approaching sounds. She happily realized that her excellent night vision was kicking in and she could barely make out the metal bars that made up the door if she squinted.

After several moments of silence, she walked as close as she could to the door, having to stretch her arms to reach it because of the confining chain. She continued to use her hands and what vision she had to try to find a lock or anything to help her open the door, successfully finding a small box with a keyhole on the outside of the metal bar door.

Smiling to herself at the good find, she stuck a claw into the keyhole and fiddled around with it just like Monkey had taught her. After a few moments of concentration, she finally heard the satisfying click and her smile broadened. She then turned her attention to the chains restraining her from moving forward. Feeling around the metal clasp around her ankle, she found a keyhole in it as well. Grinning at her fortune, she made quick work of the lock and was soon free of the heavy clasp and chains.

Taking a deep breath, Zhen slowly opened the metal door, cringing at the loud screech that resulted from the action. She hurried through the small gap and stuck her arms out in front of her as she walked, carefully feeling for the wall that she was bound to come in contact with. When she found it, she kept a paw on it and continued down what she figured was a hallway of some sort, using her ears and other senses to try to be aware of any incoming object or sudden turn. Her night vision had little use here, as she couldn't see anything except for the faint shapes of the flat floor and rough wall.

The silence became deafening as she walked steadily onward, and she fought off the suffocating feelings of being lost; the last thing she needed now was to let herself get distracted. It wasn't too long before a startling noise reached her sensitive ears and she paused, listening.

"She's gone!" a female voice shouted distantly.

"How'd she escape?" a second, also female voice replied.

"Look at the ropes on the ground, you moron! How do you _think_ she escaped?!"

"It's pitch dark in here, so she couldn't have gotten too far. Besides, we know these tunnels and she doesn't. We—"

"Don't tell me what's obvious! We'll split up to find her faster. You go that way."

"Fine."

Zhen frowned as she abruptly heard two sets of pawsteps, one fading and the other quickly growing closer. It didn't take long for her to spot the faint, approaching light, which only served to send more panic the cougar's way.

She blinked a few times as her eyes attempted to adjust to the invading light. Thinking fast, she turned and started running, desperate to not get caught again despite knowing how slight a chance her escape was. With the faint but useful light, she could now see that she was indeed in a tunnel. Unfortunately, the corridor she was in was straight and there were no side tunnels to provide an escape.

"She's over here!"

Adrenaline immediately rushed through Zhen's veins and she started running on all fours, not daring to look behind her as the light came closer, and with it her impending capture.

She heard a growl and felt a sudden pain overcome her right leg. She yelped as she tripped and stumbled forward, coming to a painful stop as she caught herself with her hands. She looked around frantically and discovered the shallow cut on her leg and the knife that made it resting on the ground in front of her, a stripe of red tainting one side.

Hearing her attacker approaching quickly, Zhen grabbed the knife and turned around to face the bandit. She saw the surprise in the gray wolf's eyes as she skidded to a stop just in front of the downed cougar, a lifted lantern in one hand. The canine glared down at Zhen with her dark eyes, causing the cat to shudder.

"I'm going to give you two options," the wolf started, her voice dangerously calm. "Either you drop the knife and come with me willingly, or you try to fight and come with me anyway, no matter your condition." She unsheathed a short sword from her hidden belt and narrowed her eyes at the panicked mountain cat.

A rush of mixed emotions shot through Zhen upon recognizing the sword as one of Cong's Dao swords. She attempted to steady her breathing as her fury threatened to take control. Looking from her meager little knife to the sword in the wolf's hand and back again, she slowly calmed down and let the weapon fall from her paw. It hit the ground with a dull _clink_ and the bandit smiled, sending shivers down Zhen's spine.

"You _are_ smart," the canine stated, causing Zhen to glare at her condescending tone of voice. "Let's go, kid. I don't want to keep Heng waiting any longer."

"Yin!"

Zhen recognized the voice as the second bandit she'd heard talking and looked to see a white wolf run up to the gray wolf's side. The white-furred bandit looked from the canine to the cougar, her eyes narrowing upon seeing the cut on Zhen's leg.

"Yin, you weren't supposed to hurt her," the white wolf growled as she turned on the other wolf.

The gray wolf, Yin, glowered back. "I do things my way, Lin."

Lin, the white wolf, gave Yin a hard stare in return. "I'll take care of her," she suggested with a gesture of her lantern at Zhen. "You should go and tell the others to get ready."

Yin narrowed her eyes at Lin, considering. After a moment, she wordlessly turned and stalked away, Lin watching her go.

Zhen cautiously put a paw on the wall and leaned on it as she got up. She slowly put weight on her cut leg, wincing as the pain returned, though it wasn't nearly as bad as before. She took a deep breath and noticed that Lin was watching her, her expression unreadable. Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, Zhen looked up at the white wolf and also said nothing, her emotions an unsettled swirl of anxiety, fear, confusion and sadness. Eager to do something to avoid the increasing awkwardness of Lin just staring at her, Zhen bent down and tore a strip of fabric from the hem of her black pants with her claws. She used the cloth as a makeshift bandage and gingerly wrapped it around her calf and tucked it into itself, successfully covering the cut to protect it from infection. She tested its durability by kicking her leg a couple of times and was satisfied that it stayed put.

Lin blinked. "Are you okay?"

Zhen looked up and frowned at the standard question. How was she supposed to be okay when she had just been kidnapped and attacked?

Lin seemed to take note of Zhen's negative reaction. "I apologize about my sister, Yin. She's the most brutal out of all of us."

Was that supposed to make Zhen feel better? "What do you want with me?" she asked, forcing any fear from her tone.

Lin blinked again and Zhen was surprised by the sudden anger that appeared in her eyes. "It's not about you," the wolf answered, her voice threateningly low. "We brought you here to give you a chance."

"... What?" Zhen looked up at Lin with utmost confusion. How in the world was kidnapping her equal to giving her a chance?

"Come with me, and you'll find the answers you seek." Lin turned and started walking. When she noticed that Zhen wasn't following, she turned and gave the already frightened cougar a glare. "Now!"

Zhen flinched and started moving, suddenly afraid to argue. She followed the bandit through a few tunnels and turns, quickly losing track of where they went. The flickering light from the flame in the lantern casted an almost eerie, orange glow on the carved stone walls. Zhen noticed that the gauges that appeared in the rock every so often looked more animal-made than from a pickaxe. She squinted at the deep scratches in an attempt to figure out what animal had made them, but didn't come to a conclusion on the matter.

Various noises coming from up ahead drew Zhen's attention back to her current situation and she leaned to the side to look past Lin, her eyes widening in fear as they entered a large room. The word 'cavern' was more accurate, as the vast space was easily the length and the width of the Training Hall back at the Jade Palace. The ceiling stretched up at least two yards over Zhen's head.

But it wasn't the size of the room that made Zhen feel like she should run and hide in a corner. Rather, it was the eight black-clad animals that made her squirm as they quickly hushed and focused their attention on her. Six of the various animals made way for Lin and Zhen to pass by them, but the last two stood several feet in from of Lin and didn't bother to move.

Glancing around with her ears low, Zhen looked at the faces around her, curious when she thought that she vaguely recognized some of them. There was a pangolin, a goose, a rhino, two rabbits, and Yin. Because Lin was right in front of her, Zhen couldn't get a good enough view of the two others in front to tell what species they were.

Zhen noticed the bandits gathering behind her as she passed, making her feel more and more like she was some criminal about to be executed, which might not have been too far from the truth. Despite what Lin had told her, if she could even trust the white wolf, these bandits hadn't treated her so kindly up to now. If they _did_ want her dead, though, she figured that they would've done it by now.

"Welcome, Zhen," a rough, male voice boomed from ahead.

Lin stopped walking, gave Zhen a look that clearly meant _don't try anything,_ and stood off to the side next to her sister. Zhen halted as well and looked up at the source of the voice and couldn't help but stare, her eyes wide.

The first thing she noticed was his huge claws. His scaly-looking arms were somewhat short, but his hands each had three slightly hooked claws, the middle claw being the largest on each hand. His back was clearly arched, but Zhen couldn't tell why thanks to his loose, black tunic. He wore no shoes, exposing his four, stubby claws on his thick feet. A somewhat long, scaly tail wrapped around his feet.

She stared at his dark eyes and realized that he was a giant armadillo as she looked from his various shades of brown scales to his curved claws. His ears stuck out from his head a good few inches, and dark brown scales covered his forehead and the top of his long snout. A smile graced his wrinkled face, causing Zhen to frown further.

Then, her eyes turned to the animal next to the scaly bandit and fury instantly boiled in her blood, her eyes narrowing as she looked at her 'friend.' Cong stared at the ground, a look of conflicted shame evident on his face.

"I see you know my son," the armadillo commented, a knowing smirk on his face.

Zhen struggled to keep her temper in check. "What do you want with me?"

His expression turned serious. "We are the Fuchou, and I am Heng, their leader. I brought you here to give you a chance to join us. If you do, you will live. If you don't, you will suffer for the rest of your life."

"You must be stupid if you think I'll actually join you," Zhen stated bluntly, trying to push back her growing fear. "Kidnapping me doesn't exactly give me motivation to go to your side."

"If we had simply asked and you refused, we would have had to bring you here anyway," the armadillo replied. "I decided it would be easier to just do the latter."

"Look, I'm not about to join some bandits just because of a threat," Zhen responded bravely. "I'm a warrior, and my job is to bring bandits like you to justice!"

Heng tilted his head slightly, his hard eyes boring into her. She forced herself to keep from fidgeting, well aware that she was completely surrounded and wouldn't stand half a chance against fighting these criminals.

Finally, the armadillo spoke. "Do you recognize anyone here?" He gestured with his claws at the bandits around.

Zhen glanced around at the faces staring and glaring at her. Before she could speak, Heng continued.

"Do you remember where you were born?" He waited until her attention was back to him. "Most of us were from the village of your first home."

Startled at his words, Zhen glanced around again, feeling the slight familiarity she felt from most of them earlier returning as her mind reeled. Was he telling the truth? If he was, then what did kidnapping her have to do with anything? How did they know who she was? Nothing made sense, and she suddenly felt like she was lost and desperately grappling for anything she could hold on to.

"This doesn't make any sense," she muttered, giving Heng a confused look.

He looked levelly at her, his facial expression unreadable. "Do you remember, Zhen, when your home was stripped from you? When everything you knew was gone and replaced by fire?"

Zhen took a step back as painful memories tried to resurface. She mentally pushed them away, determined to not be shaken. Where was Heng going with this?

She could see the intense fury in his dark eyes now. "Do you know the reason why our village was destroyed? Why everything was torn from us?"

Suddenly unsure, Zhen stared at him as she realized that no, she didn't know the answer to his questions.

His eyes narrowed at her and she felt as though his piercing gaze would tear a hole right through her. Then, he spoke.

"It was because of the Furious Five."


	5. Questions and Answers

**Big thanks to my great reviewers!**

 **Warning: this chapter is a bit emotionally intense.**

* * *

Zhen stared, open mouthed and dumbfounded. Heng couldn't be serious. He had to be telling some cruel joke.

The armadillo saw her expression, his eyes hardening. "Difficult to believe, isn't it? Those who you thought were your friends are actually the ones who caused your parents to die."

She blinked away her astonishment and glared at him, angry at his accusation. "You're wrong. Those bandits that destroyed my—er—our village didn't kill my mom and dad."

He gave her a quizzical look. "Oh, really? Who did, then?"

"Another group of bandits called the Crimson Knights. Have you heard of them?" She saw the brief recognition in his eyes as she said the name. Taking courage, she continued with a stronger voice. "The Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior are the ones who defeated the Knights. It's thanks to them that you're even here, or at least not captive under the Knights' rule. In fact, it's thanks to them that I'm alive. The Crimson Knights would've killed me too, if not for them."

A few whispers of quiet conversations snaked through the small crowd of Fuchou. Cong looked up for the first time since Zhen had entered the room. He made eye contact with the indignant cougar before quickly looking away, his expression guarded. Heng's eyes narrowed further in response to the whispers, his fury evidently growing.

"Silence!" he commanded suddenly, immediately halting the whispers and eliciting a flinch from Cong. "We won't be tempted by your lies."

"Nor will you persuade me with yours!" Zhen shot back, her own anger getting dangerous close to erupting. Who did this bandit think he was, kidnapping her and then accusing her adoptive family of the destruction of her first home?

He looked at Yin. "Take her back to her cell. Someone will guard her at all times. If she won't join us, then she'll suffer with the rest of the Furious Five."

Zhen growled menacingly as Yin approached her, but the gray wolf just scowled back. The rest of the bandits made way as Yin shoved Zhen back the way she had come. The cougar stopped and hesitated, debating whether to fight back, before deciding that it wasn't worth the cuts and risking her honor for. Glowering at Yin, Zhen walked out of the cave and let the canine and the rhino bandit lead her back to the dingy little cell, their lanterns lighting the way.

The walk lasted only a few minutes and, with the light of the lantern to see, Zhen now realized that everything that made up the cell, from the dented chains to the rusty, metal bar door, looked like it had either been used for a very long time or stolen from a pile of junk. Zhen figured that the latter was the case.

"Get in or I'll make you," Yin snarled.

Zhen bit back a retort and trudged into the four-by-four space. The rhino shut the metal door behind her and leaned against the wall right next to it with a snort. Yin gave Zhen one last glare before stalking off, leaving the cougar to her thoughts.

* * *

"The storm is settling down now," Viper announced from her post near the mouth of the cave. "We should be able to head out in a few minutes."

"Good," Tigress replied, sighing quietly.

The blizzard had lasted a good hour after they'd taken shelter in the cave, and they all knew that the combination of wind and snow had surely erased any tracks and smells that the bandits had left behind, making it almost impossible to discover where Zhen's kidnappers had gone. Tigress knew that they had gone North, but that was all any of them knew concerning the bandits' whereabouts.

They waited five minutes longer as the wind slowly died down, the falling snow going away with it. After one last, swift check, the warriors climbed down from the cave and observed their white surroundings.

At least several inches of snow had fallen, making the already pretty landscape stunningly beautiful with its pure, white glow in the shining light of the full moon. Tree branches were lined by white on multiple sides, thanks to the unpredictable wind.

Tigress frowned despite the beauty; as she feared, any and all tracks were completely covered and the smells that had accompanied them were utterly gone, blown away by the tumultuous wind. The darkness of night didn't help, either.

"Oh, man," Mantis spoke. "There's no way we're going to find those bandits now."

"There has to be a way!" Po argued, his expression determined. "We know they were heading North, right?"

Viper perked up. "And in that storm, they had to have kept going straight or we would've caught up to them!"

"Which means that we'll find them if we continue North," Tigress finished, smiling.

"Let's go!" Po shouted, punching the air happily.

Crane took to the sky as they set out, all of them looking ahead for any signs that the bandits came through. Every warrior knew that the chances were slim, but they didn't even consider giving up on Zhen. They had to find her.

* * *

Zhen stared emptily at the bland, stone wall in front of her. She was leaning against the side wall of the cell with her back to the metal door, curled up with her knees to her chest and her arms on top of them, the fur of her cheeks and arms wet with recent tears. She squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face in her arms for not the first time, desperately willing the despair to just leave her alone already.

She didn't know how long she had been down here, under the surface in a maze of tunnels, but she figured it must've been several hours because she now had a different bandit guarding her cell. She could hear the wolf's steady breathing and occasional growls, but she hadn't bothered to look and see if it was Yin or Lin.

She couldn't stop thinking about the destruction of her first home. For years she had shoved those awful memories away and had successfully driven them from her thoughts, but what Heng had said had brought them crashing painfully down on her again. Even though she was young when it had happened, it had scarred her thoroughly and she remembered almost every detail vividly thanks to the nightmares that had plagued her ever since.

She had been nine years old when they came. She could still remember the ringing of the warning gong, of her parents urgently taking her from her friend to their house as her friend's parents did the same. She saw her father grab weapons from the closet he always kept locked, of him and her mother each taking a sword and giving Zhen a small, somewhat dull dagger. They had taught her how to fight a little, but certainly not enough to actually defeat an attacker by herself.

She heard horrific screams from outside and hid behind her parents, utterly terrified and confused. They promised her that everything would be alright, but warned her to stay close.

Then, the window broke and glass flew everywhere, the rock that had been thrown through it coming to rest next to Zhen's feet. A large, black-clad figure followed the projectile into the house, growling and snarling as he rushed at the cougars. Zhen closed her eyes and cowered in fright as her parents defended her, defeating the bandit and sending him back out the way he'd come with a yelp.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang. Fire and the terrible noise of wood breaking and collapsing on itself sounded. Zhen couldn't see anything but smoke and flames and the destruction of her home which had stood strong just seconds before. She cried out for her mother and father, fearing the worst as pain climbed up her arm and engulfed her shoulder. She frantically used her opposite hand to brush out the fire on her arm and was abruptly lifted from the burning wood that surrounded her. Coughing, she looked up and saw her father holding her, carefully but quickly making his way through the wreckage to the freedom outside.

Once they escaped the destroyed house, Zhen saw her mother waiting for them and embraced them both in a tight hug. Swiftly, they stealthily made their way towards the outer wall of the village, avoiding fire and bandits along the way. Soon, they were outside of the town they had called home as it burned to the ground, leaving carnage and destruction in its place. They rested for only a moment before heading into the nearby mountains, hoping that the bandits hadn't seen them escape.

Now, over three years later, Zhen wondered how the Furious Five could've been responsible for the loss of everything she'd grown up with. The things Heng had said just didn't add up. How could her adoptive family be responsible for something that ruthless bandits had done?

"What do you want?" the grumpy voice of Yin asked.

Zhen peeked behind her and saw the gray wolf talking to Cong. She blinked and turned back towards the wall, too tired to be furious at him anymore.

"Heng sent me to talk to her," Cong answered. "Alone."

"Fine. I'll be in the next tunnel when you're done." Yin walked away and Zhen could feel Cong staring at her.

"Zhen, I… I'm really sorry."

She closed her eyes as tears threatened to spill over, her anger returning despite her exhaustion.

"I just… I thought that you'd join us, and—"

Zhen stood and whirled on him, eyes narrowed in ire. "And what? Betray my family? Go against everything they and my parents taught me? I can't believe you'd be dumb enough to think that I'd do such a thing!" She hadn't meant to be so rude, but she pushed her guilt away and kept glaring at him.

He flinched at her words. "I didn't know that they were going to put you in a cell and hurt you!" He gestured briefly at the makeshift bandage on her leg. "I just did what they told me to!"

Her anger faded, but it was still there as she looked at him, searching his eyes. He was telling the truth, but she didn't understand how he could think that what he was doing was right. "You hurt me a lot more than they did," she finally said, her voice low.

He took a small step backward, a pained expression overtaking his face. Zhen turned away from him and stood still, crossing her arms over her chest. Even though he had hurt her and destroyed her trust in him, she still felt bad for him somehow.

The silence stretched out from one minute to two, and Zhen wondered if Cong had managed to walk away without her hearing him. Until he spoke.

"The Furious Five… your family… adopted you, right?" He waited for her to turn to face him. When she didn't, he continued on anyway. "Well… I lived in the same village as you growing up. I think we lived on opposite sides of town, but I vaguely remember seeing you a few times."

Surprised, she glanced behind her and saw him staring at the ground.

"When those bandits came… they killed my parents. I got stuck under the wreckage of our home and the bandits left me there, probably figuring that I would die anyway." His voice shook, surprising Zhen. "I was there for hours, trying to get myself free, but I was too stuck. I could see my parents' bodies…" His voice trailed off unsteadily.

Zhen turned around and dropped her arms to her sides. Cong was sitting on the ground now and still looking downward, but he was actually crying. Zhen felt her own tears return as he took a deep breath and finally looked up at her, a hint of a smile on his face.

"Then, Heng found me. He helped me get free of the wreckage and took me in. I told him what happened, and he promised that he would make it right. He adopted me, Zhen, just like your family did to you."

Zhen was touched by his story, but one question still nagged at her brain. "What do the Furious Five have to do with all of this, though? It was the bandits who attacked our village, not them."

His smile disappeared and anger replaced it. "I'm surprised that you don't know. The Furious Five could've stopped the attack and all of the destruction, but they didn't. They didn't even show up until long after the bandits were gone. If it wasn't for their procrastination, our parents would still be alive right now."

Zhen stared at him. Something wasn't right with what he said. "There has to be something you're not telling me. The Furious Five are loyal, honorable warriors who do anything in their power to help those in need and in danger. Your story isn't right."

His expression soured even more. "You say that, but you realize that they let you get captured, right? Once again, they didn't get there in time to save you."

Zhen balked at his statement. That couldn't be true. It just couldn't. "You're lying!" she growled. "They would never do that!"

"I saw it myself," Cong argued, standing. "You're here now, aren't you? If your 'family' is as loyal as you say, how come we succeeded in capturing you so easily?"

"It's not true!" she yelled, stepping forward and grabbing onto the metal bars of the door with a snarl. "Why should I trust you, anyway? You're nothing but a lying, trust-breaking thief!"

She saw the hurt in his eyes a split-second before he hid it. "Believe what you want, but I know the truth."

Without another glance at her, he turned and walked away, soon disappearing from Zhen's sight.

Breathing hard, she released the bars and stumbled to the back of her cell, still facing the door. What he said wasn't true. It just couldn't be. She knew the Five and Po better than any of these bandits, and there had to be more to the story than what Cong had said. There was no way she was about to believe the fox who had betrayed her so painfully.

* * *

Tigress sighed as she and her fellow warriors climbed up the Thousand Steps to the Jade Palace. Even after a few hours of searching, they couldn't find the slightest trace of the bandits or anything leading to where they could've gone. The warriors figured that they'd turned and gone a different direction, meaning that Zhen could be anywhere by now.

Exhausted, hungry, and discouraged with the lack of leads, they had decided to return to the Jade Palace and bring Master Shifu the horrible news. They all hoped that he'd have some idea of how to find Zhen.

They finally reached the top of the stairs and made their way inside the Palace. Po started on a quick batch of noodles while the others went about their own business. Self-tasked with finding Master Shifu, Tigress made the short journey to the meditation cave where he spent much of his time.

As expected, he was meditating, balancing on one foot on the tip of his staff. His eyes were closed, but he acknowledged Tigress' presence with a small turn of one of his large ears.

Tigress bowed respectfully. "Master Shifu… Zhen has been captured by a group of bandits. We've exhausted all of our resources, but failed to find her." She looked up and found her master watching her with a careful expression. She suddenly remembered the hesitant, anxious look he'd had on his face when they'd left for the Traveler's Village. "Master… did you know this would happen?"

"No," he answered immediately. "I only knew that something bad was coming." He gracefully jumped to the ground, hooking his staff with a finger on the way down and flipping it until it landed in his open hand. "Tell me what happened."

Tigress quickly relayed the events of the evening, noting the look of concern that flashed over Shifu's face when she mentioned that she'd been hit. When she finished her report, Shifu took a deep breath and remained quiet for a few moments, obviously in deep thought.

"Whatever those bandits want with Zhen, they want her alive. It sounds like they had plenty of chances to do otherwise," he commented. "Those bandits must show up sooner or later. When they do, that will be our best opportunity to rescue Zhen."

Tigress nodded in agreement.

"You need to get some rest," Shifu commanded gently, his expression one of understanding and compassion. "We will find her soon."

Tigress bowed again. "Thank you, Master."

She then turned and left, her mind swirling with thoughts. Shifu was definitely right; any group of bandits never stayed in the shadows for too long. They thrived on stealing from others, and that couldn't always be done in the dark. She just hoped that they would turn up soon and that Zhen could hold on a little longer, wherever she was.


	6. Glimmer of Hope

**I am** _ **so**_ **sorry that this is late! Life got the better of me this time, but I'll do my best to not let it happen again from now on. =)**

 **Also, I was evidently in a slight hurry to get this out and thus didn't have quite as much time to proofread, so I apologize for any mistakes. As always, let me know what you think! I love hearing your feedback. =D**

* * *

"You'd better eat something," Cong suggested, tossing a piece of bread through the metal bars.

Zhen turned away. "I'm not hungry."

"I thought you didn't lie," he replied.

She scowled at him. "I don't feel like eating."

His expression softened. "Why don't you just join us already? The food's better."

She narrowed her eyes. "Why don't you start thinking for yourself? The results are better."

His eyes widened slightly and his brow furrowed. "What do you mean by that?"

"Everything you told me yesterday, you were just repeating what you'd been told. I can tell. Plus, you said yourself that it's what they told you." She softened her own expression. "Ever think that they could be lying to you to get you on their side?"

Cong took a step toward her, now almost up against the door, as ire flared in his eyes. "How dare you say that?! They're my family!"

"You said the same things about my family!" Zhen retorted, standing up to face him fully. "Make up your mind already! Think for yourself!"

"I _am_ thinking for myself!" he argued.

"Oh yeah? Then why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Doing whatever the bandits tell you to! Pretending to be my friend only to turn on me!" She tried in vain to push back her boiling anger as her voice rose in volume.

He flinched, but she kept going.

"Why are you so against my family? Why?" She was almost yelling now, her hands clenched into tight fists.

"Because they destroyed mine!" he blurted, equally as furious. He started to continue, but Zhen beat him to it.

"What proof do you have that it was the Furious Five's fault?"

He blinked, taken by surprise by her question. "Proof? How can I have proof?"

She sighed in frustration and rephrased her question. "How do you know that it was the Furious Five?"

He opened his mouth, but hesitated, his anger visibly dissipating.

Zhen crossed her arms. "Exactly. Heng and the others told you that it was the Five's fault, didn't they? You don't actually know for yourself."

He frowned.

"You've got to stop believing everything others tell you. Start thinking for yourself and—"

"They helped me get back on my feet after I lost everything!" Cong abruptly shouted, his hands gripping the bars tightly. "If it wasn't for Heng, I would've died! And you expect me to believe that what he told me is a lie, after everything he's done for me?" He snorted and released the bars, his arms falling to his sides. "Heng was right. Your head's filled with a bunch of empty lies. Stop trying to confuse me!"

He stormed off without another word.

"I'm not trying to confuse you. I'm trying to tell you the truth!" Zhen called after him loudly, but he wasn't listening anymore.

Utterly exasperated, Zhen turned and angrily punched the back wall of her cell, instantly regretting it when her hand throbbed with newfound pain. Withdrawing it with a growl, she about-faced and studied the door. Yin hadn't come back yet, and Zhen was almost sure that she could break down the rusty metal barrier.

Listening carefully for Yin to return, Zhen approached the door and grasped one of the bars. She tested its strength with a tug. When it held firm, she yanked on it only to yield no result. Surprised at its resistance, she pulled harder. Still nothing.

"That's not going to work."

Zhen's head snapped up and she took a hasty step away from the door as Yin appeared in front of her, Dao sword in hand. She stuck it threateningly through the bars with her hand, causing Zhen to back up further and bump into the back wall, her eyes wide as the point of the weapon stopped just inches from her throat.

A deep growl emanated from Yin as she glared daggers at the cougar. "Stop filling Cong's head with lies, or I'll just tell Heng that you died by accident." She waited a moment to let her words sink in before retracting the blade and sheathing it.

Zhen shuddered as she realized that, though Heng, Cong and the other bandits wanted her alive, Yin obviously desired otherwise. The look the gray wolf often gave her was proof enough, not to mention her actions. Now Zhen just wondered why.

"What's the truth, then?" Zhen inquired, regaining the canine's attention. "How is it the Furious Five's fault that our village was destroyed when bandits like you are the ones who did it?"

Yin gave her a long, hard stare. "Fine, I'll tell you. But after I do, I don't want to hear another word out of your little mouth."

Zhen smiled ever so slightly at her cooperation. "Deal."

Finally, she was going to get some answers.

* * *

Tigress rolled over for what felt like the hundredth time on her mat. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't fall asleep. The one time she did, she'd had an awful nightmare and had woken up an hour later; she could tell by the position of the moon that she could see through her window.

She heaved a sigh and sat up. Wiping a hand over her face, she stood and silently exited her room. Thanks to the moonlight streaming from the windows and her excellent night vision, she could see the silhouettes of her friends sleeping in their rooms. At least, they appeared to be sleeping. She figured that she wasn't the only one having trouble with the normally simple task.

She made her way outside and breathed in the crisp, frigid air of the Winter night. Glancing at the Training Hall as she passed it, she headed around it and stopped when she reached the back of the large building. There, several large trees stood, their leafless branches stretching heavenward. Placing a hand on the pale bark eye-level to her, Tigress let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

After a moment, she took a step back and started training against the tree. Using a combination of kicks, jabs, jumps, and punches, she took out her frustrations and worry on the sturdy plant, wincing occasionally due to her bruised side. Bark flew in every direction and, when she'd stripped part of it bare, she moved on to the next with a graceful flip, relishing the feeling of using the martial arts that she loved and worked so hard for, ever since that day that Shifu had brought her to the Jade Palace all those years ago.

Back then, she could scarcely have imagined that she would become a truly fearsome Kung Fu warrior, despite that Shifu had told her she could if she trained hard enough and never complained. She had listened to him and he'd helped her become the leader and fierce protector she was now, even though she had gotten unseen wounds on her body and mind while doing so.

Tigress was brought out of her thoughts by the feeling that she suddenly wasn't alone. Turning into a battle stance, she found Po watching her from behind the corner of the Training Hall, his eyes widening when she saw him.

She relaxed as he left his hiding spot and approached her.

"What did the trees ever do to you?" he asked timidly, gesturing at the scattered bark covering the ground.

Tigress sighed. "I couldn't sleep."

"Me neither," he agreed. "I keep wishing that we'd been with you to help you sooner." He averted his eyes to the ground. "Then, maybe Zhen wouldn't have gotten captured."

Tigress blinked, surprised at his confession. "It's not your fault, Po. We did what we could."

"But we totally should've been there with you!" he argued, returning his eyes to look at hers. "We could've taken down that rhino and brought Zhen's kidnapper to justice!"

She took a step toward him. "We _will_ bring them all to justice, Po." Her tone was comforting and she offered him a small smile of encouragement. "Those bandits can't hide for long. When they show up, we'll save Zhen and take them down."

He returned her smile, obviously feeling better. Now that Tigress thought about it, she felt better after talking to Po too.

"We better get some sleep before the sun comes up in a couple hours," Po suggested.

Tigress nodded in agreement and they returned to the Palace, finally feeling ready to sleep.

* * *

"We saw the bandits coming minutes before they arrived," Yin started. "We rang the gong and the message was sent to the Jade Palace for help. The bandits were heavily armed and there was no way that we stood a chance against them. Though our town had some defenders, they were brutally torn apart by the bandits."

Zhen frowned at her vivid words.

"We never knew what they wanted, but they destroyed everything and almost everyone." The wolf scowled at the cougar as though she'd done something wrong. "We searched for answers as to why the Five had never shown up till long after the bandits were gone. Turns out, they'd let a little ambush get their attention and they were distracted long enough for our homes to be blown to splinters."

Zhen furrowed her brow. "An ambush? That doesn't make it their fau—"

"They dealt with the ambush for an entire half-hour!" Yin snapped, causing Zhen to flinch. "No fight except in a war takes that much time. You explain to me why it took so long for trained, supposedly _legendary_ warriors to take out a few bandits!" she snarled. She took a breath to compose herself, glowering at Zhen. "Heng then rallied me and a few other survivors from the devastating attack and we became the Fuchou, bent on vengeance for the Five's wrongs against us. Heng became our leader and he had the _wonderful_ idea to recruit you." Sarcasm dripped from her voice as she emphasized the word 'wonderful.' "I was against it, but he always has his way."

Zhen took a moment to absorb all of Yin's words. "There has to be more. The Five wouldn't let a village get ruined. They're honorable warriors and—"

"Ugh, will you quit with all this talk of them being so great?" Yin rolled her eyes and turned away from Zhen, leaning against the wall next to the cell with her arms crossed. "Not everyone is perfect, kid. Now be quiet; I've answered your stupid questions."

Zhen bit back a retort, frowning at the wolf. Finally, she took a step back and sat on the ground with a quiet sigh, picking up the tossed piece of bread from Cong off of the ground and sniffing it. Her stomach growled loudly and she quickly glanced at Yin, wondering if the bandit would yell at her for the noise. When Yin didn't move, Zhen sighed and took a bite of the stale food, wrinkling her nose at the undesirable taste as she pondered what she'd been told.

Something more than an ambush must've happened. She couldn't think of any other reason why it had taken the Five so long to reach the village, if what Yin said was true.

She would definitely have to ask Tigress and the others what had really happened once she got out of here.

* * *

"Do you see anything yet?" Viper called up to Crane, who was flying high above his fellow warriors.

"Not yet!" he answered, his eyes squinted slightly in the bright daylight despite the shade his hat provided.

The warriors had returned to where they'd lost the trail to continue searching. With any luck, they would hopefully catch the bandits sneaking around, or at least find a sign that they'd been through here.

Tigress climbed up a tree and perched at the top, shifting her weight to balance with the swaying of the tree. Using a hand to shield her eyes from the sun, she surveyed the area around. She could see a village in the distance, but other than that there were mainly trees and mountains.

After a few minutes of unsuccessful surveillance, Tigress returned to the ground and continued looking around with the others before the ringing of a somewhat distant gong disrupted their investigation.

The warriors all looked at each other for a moment before simultaneously launching into action, racing to the village that Tigress had seen from the treetop.

"Hopefully it's the same bandits!" Monkey commented.

"Time to deliver some justice!" Po shouted.

They reached the village quickly and found several black-clad bandits raiding various houses. The Furious Five and Dragon Warrior entered to the cheering of some of the villagers, instantly gaining the attention of the attackers.

Tigress' eyes widened as she made eye contact with a gray wolf bandit; she immediately recognized the canine as the one who'd knocked Zhen out cold before kidnapping her.

The warriors split up and rushed into combat, Tigress running directly towards the wolf as her anger returned with full force. Seeing her coming, the bandit dodged to the side and brandished her Dao sword horizontally at the feline's torso. Tigress ducked under the blade and performed a roundhouse kick at her opponent's legs, successful tripping the wolf.

The bandit caught herself with her hands and used her momentum to flip backwards onto her feet, skidding slightly from the speed of the movement. Hearing fast approaching footsteps, Tigress turned and back-flipped out of the way of the charging rhino. He ran past and, grabbing a pole with one hand, turned around to come back at Tigress. She immediately pounced at the wolf and, catching the bandit off guard, seized her and turned just as the rhino reached them.

Realizing that he was about to hit the wolf, the rhino attempted to stop but failed. Tigress jumped out of the way just as he crashed into the canine, sending them both tumbling into a painful heap on the ground.

Her anger at boiling point, Tigress kicked the rhino off of the wolf and grabbed the canine by the collar of her black tunic, swinging her around and shoving her against a building while holding one arm out, ready to strike the bandit if the need arose.

"Ugh… let go of me!" the wolf snarled.

"Only if you tell me where Zhen is," Tigress replied, narrowing her eyes.

The bandit smirked, making Tigress even more furious. "Oh, your precious little cougar? Don't worry; she's been taken care of."

Tigress tried in vain to shake off the horrible feeling growing in the pit of her stomach as her eyes widened slightly. "What do you mean by that?"

The wolf's malicious smile grew at Tigress' reaction. "Let's just say that she's underground."

With a roar of pure ire, Tigress slammed the canine to the ground, causing the bandit to gasp and clutch at Tigress' strong arm.

"She's not dead," Tigress stated. "If you wanted her dead then you wouldn't have kidnapped her. Tell me where she is."

The canine struggled for adequate breath. "She's… in our… lair," she choked out, giving Tigress a pleading look.

Tigress reduced the hardness of her grip, allowing the bandit to breathe much better. "Where?" she pressed, eyes narrowed once again.

The wolf coughed and glared at Tigress, everything about her expression clearly letting the tiger know that she hated her with a passion.

"Yin!"

Tigress turned to see that the rhino had recovered and was now charging at her. He didn't get far before Viper appeared and wrapped her tail around one of his legs as she shot past, sending him face-first into the dirt.

Taking advantage of Tigress' brief distraction, the wolf kicked at her side. Tigress caught the movement and let go of the wolf to deflect the attack, but the bandit jumped to her feet and sprinted out of reach of the warrior before she could grab her again.

The canine let out a loud howl into the air. Seeming to understand the sound as a signal, the rest of the bandits instantly stopped what they were doing, snatched a few nearby objects, and took off after the escaping wolf.

"Crane, Viper!" Tigress called.

They quickly flew and slithered up to the feline.

"Follow them stealthily," Tigress commanded. "We need to find their hideout."

"On it!" they responded at the same time, heading off into the trees in pursuit of the fleeing bandits.

"What should we do?" Po asked excitedly with a grin.

"See what we can do to help these villagers clean up the mess and find out what we can about these bandits," Tigress answered.

"Right, of course," the panda replied after slight hesitation, his excitement a little dissipated.

Tigress gave him a look. "You've said yourself that stealth isn't your strong suit, Po."

"Yeah, I know." He smiled again. "Let's do this!"

The warriors all split up and went off in different directions, asking the villagers what they could do to help. While they cleaned, swept, lifted, and helped to restore and rebuild a few things, they began asking the various animals questions.

"What do you know about the bandits that attacked this village?" Tigress inquired, picking up shards of broken dishes and glass and placing them into a pile of similar garbage.

"The pangolin that wrecked my place was surprisingly talkative," the middle-aged pig answered as he used a broom to sweep up splinters of busted wood in an adjoining room. "Makes me wonder why he's a bandit and not a normal villager like us in the first place, you know? Didn't seem quite like the pilfering, destructive type. Then again, he did throw my dishes around in an attempt to find my stash of money! Lucky for me, he didn't find it. Ha! Good thing I listened to my uncle about hiding my valuables in unexpected places."

Tigress sighed inwardly at the pig's ramblings, but continued on anyway. "Did he say anything about the bandits? Maybe a name, or what they were looking for?"

"He mentioned a name, the 'Fuchou.'" He said it with extra emphasis for dramatic effect. "Sounds mysterious, if you ask me. You know, with the word meaning 'revenge' and all. Hey, he broke my hand-carved figure of my wife! _So_ not cool."

Tigress ignored the strange comment. "Did he say anything else?"

"Hmm, I don't think so. He was in quite a hurry, though. Especially when he heard that you guys were here. Just rushed out without another word! All he stole were some ropes I was saving for a hiking trip up the mountain close by here. Kind of strange, unless he was really intent on spoiling my fun date with my wife. Now it'll take me awhile to buy more rope!"

Tigress blinked. "… I'm sorry for your losses. Thank you for the information on the bandits." She finished her job and dusted off her hands. "Can I help you with anything else?"

"No, I can take it from here." He looked up and gave her a smile. "You have helped us all so much. You have our sincere gratitude."

Tigress returned his smile and nodded before leaving the small house. It didn't take long for her to regroup with Po, Monkey, and Mantis.

"What did you find out?" Po asked, his voice humming with anticipation as he grinned.

"The bandits are called the Fuchou," Tigress answered. "They stole rope from at least one house."

"They stole a barrel of gunpowder from a goose," Mantis chimed in.

Tigress narrowed her eyes. "Gunpowder?"

The insect shrugged. "The goose said he was going to be making fireworks for the holidays."

"They also stole more rope from a rabbit," Monkey spoke up. "Did you find anything, Po?"

The panda's shoulders fell slightly. "Not really. The pig I was talking to was really grumpy."

Tigress opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by a familiar voice.

"We found them!"

The warriors turned and saw Crane and Viper approaching rapidly, looks of elation on their faces.

"We found them!" Crane repeated, landing next to Po. "We know where their hideout is!"

Tigress' eyes widened along with her companions as an emotion she hadn't felt for a long time welled up in her chest and filled her with warmth: hope.


	7. Exposed

**Well, I have no excuse and I'm incredibly sorry. I'll be taking a bit of a break from posting for a bit, but I have more information on that in the author's note at the end of this chapter. I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

"There," Viper announced in a whisper, pointing with her tail-tip at a jutting outcrop of rock.

The rocks looked normal, but upon closer inspection Tigress could make out the faint outline of an entrance; a bit of dark gray that contrasted slightly with the light gray around it. To the passer-by, it looked like a simple bunch of large rocks from most angles.

"We need to come up with a plan of attack!" Po suggested quietly, grinning with excitement. "We can swoop in and take them out before they know what hit them!" He started to move out of their hiding place of bushes before being stopped by Tigress' arm.

"We have no idea what's in there," she reminded him. "There could be more bandits than what we've seen so far, and we wouldn't know where we're going."

"Oh, right." He smiled sheepishly.

"I think we could wait until someone comes out," Monkey spoke up. "Then, we jump them and get them to tell us more about this place."

"While hoping that they're not lying," Mantis pointed out.

"We could go in quietly and sneak around," Viper chimed in. "We could maybe learn more that way."

The warriors all sat in silence as they pondered their predicament.

"Whatever we do, we need to do it fast," Crane reminded his friends. "We don't know what these bandits are up to, but it can't be good if it has to do with gunpowder."

They exchanged glances with each other, their gazes finally coming to land on Tigress.

"Alright," she said, returning each stare in turn. "Here's what we're going to do."

* * *

Zhen sighed as she drifted in and out of sleep. With no real idea of how long she'd been down here or what time of day it was, she relied on instinct to try and guess when it was night or not.

Finally getting tired of doing nothing but dozing off, she stood and stretched, noticing that the rhino was guarding her cell again.

She looked around to judge how much space she had before she hopped up and stuck her arms and legs out to catch herself on her descent. Her claws slid on the rough rock of the cell until they caught hold on small gauges, suspending her in the air by her hands and feet. Her limbs starting shaking with effort after several moments and she let go, falling a few inches back to the floor.

"Hey, what are you doing in there?" the rhino asked gruffly, sticking his head in front of the door and giving her a suspicious glare.

"Doing what I can to train," Zhen answered honestly. "It gets boring in here."

He snorted. "You're not the only one that's bored. All I have to do is stare at a wall."

"Well, at least you have more than four feet of space to move around in," she pointed out, sticking her tongue out at him. "You could do jumping jacks or something."

He gave her a strange look and fell silent again, returning to leaning against the wall and staring ahead whilst ignoring her.

Zhen shrugged to herself and tried her wall trick again, this time managing to stay up a little longer. She was about to do it again when voices approached, immediately grabbing her attention and curiosity.

"Hey Zhao, we need your help for a moment in the dyna-room," the pangolin announced as he walked into sight. A few coils of rope were grasped in his claws and the goose waddled up next to him. "Chow here will keep watch on her while you help."

The rhino, Zhao, stood and arched an eyebrow at the brown-and-tan bird. "This kid is strong if she gets out. Can Chow handle that?"

The goose glared up at the towering herbivore. "I'm right here, you know!" he said indignantly, his voice a little nasally. "And I'm stronger than I look!"

Zhao snorted in amusement. "Right. Well, yell if she's too much trouble for you."

Zhao and the pangolin walked off, leaving Chow with Zhen. The goose glared up at her as though just looking at her would make her cower in fear. The cougar smiled and stuck her tongue out at him. He reeled his head back in angry shock, as though surprised by her action.

"How dare you!" he shouted, shaking a feathery fist at her.

Zhen smirked at him. "Are you trying to intimidate me?"

"I don't need to try!" He pointed a feather at her threateningly. "Don't you try anything funny, kid. You'll have to deal with me if you do."

Zhen teasingly gave him a look and determined that the other two bandits were far away and out of sight by now. She briefly glanced at the lock on the door.

"I don't know, Chow," she replied. "I can be pretty dangerous." She pretended to casually examine her claws and noted the flash of nervousness in his eyes. "Are you sure you can handle me if I escape?"

He revealed a dagger from within his cloak. "Positive."

"Hmm." She leaned down and ripped a thin line of cloth from the hem of her intact pant leg, noticing the look of confusion that crossed Chow's face.

She smiled and tilted her head slightly at him as she straightened up, seeing his nervousness return. Sudden and quick as lightning, she surged forward and kicked as hard as she could at the lock of the door. It burst and the door swung violently outward with a screech, striking Chow and slamming him against the wall before he could even blink. He fell to the ground, dazed.

Zhen darted out of her cell and swiftly pinned Chow against the wall, using her hand to clamp his beak shut. He struggled, but she held him firmly in place with her arm and used the strip of cloth to tie his beak tightly shut, then picked him up and tossed him gently into the cell, closing the door as quietly as she could behind him.

Hearing the lock latch, she turned and bolted down the tunnels, heading the opposite way Zhao and the pangolin had gone and leaving Chow's muffled cries behind.

She knew she didn't have much time. She also knew that she really had no idea of where she was going, but she figured that she'd run until she couldn't anymore and hoped that she could miraculously find the way out.

She suddenly wished that she'd taken the lantern with her as she ran through the dim tunnels. There were so many smaller tunnels that branched off in all sorts of directions, but the passage she was following seemed a bit larger than the others. She continued down it, hoping that it meant she was going the right way.

"Zhen!"

She skidded to a stop as a white blur abruptly shot out from a side tunnel and halted in from of her, effectively blocking her path. She growled at Cong as he drew a Dao sword, his expression guarded and unreadable.

Zhen stopped and stared incredulously at him. What he really going to fight her? Was he going to try and hurt her? Her heart sank as he took a step forward and she took one back in response.

"I don't want to fight you, Cong," she pled, searching his eyes for an answer to his actions.

"And _I_ don't want to fight _you_ ," he returned, his expression steely. "Just join us already."

"I can't abandon my family," Zhen retorted, her hurt morphing into anger. "They would never abandon me."

"What are you going to do about it, then?" His eyes narrowed. "You're stuck down here with no way out."

Multiple yells erupted from the distance, and Zhen guessed that they'd found Chow. She noticed Cong getting distracted by the noise and rushed at him, catching him off guard. He swung at her as she reached him, but the attack was hurried and sloppy, causing him to miss by several inches.

Zhen seized the hilt of his sword and they grappled with it for a moment until the cougar managed to kick Cong's legs out from under him. He released the weapon with a yelp, twisting and catching himself with his hands to halt his fall.

Zhen jumped over him and kept running with the sword in her hand, ignoring his shout for her to wait. Hearing him get up and come after her, she attempted to dart into a side tunnel but was tackled from behind.

Cong grabbed at the sword and tried to yank it from Zhen's grasp, but she held on tight. Getting an idea, she shoved it at him just as he pulled again, causing him to fall off of her and stumble into a wall. As Zhen got up, she caught some loose dirt with her foot and flung it into his face with a swift kick, causing him to yelp and clutch at his eyes in pain with one hand.

Taking advantage of his temporary blindness, Zhen sprinted away and took every other turn and branch tunnel she could to throw Cong off of her trail.

She turned one more corner and ran right into a closed door before she could stop. Rubbing her sore snout, she blinked and looked over the somewhat fancy, wooden door.

"Zhen!" Cong's voice carried through the tunnels, getting closer.

Biting her lip and hoping that this wasn't a bad idea, she quickly opened the door and snuck inside, closing it behind her before turning and taking in her new surroundings with a gasp.

It was a somewhat small room, not much bigger than her own at the Jade Palace. There was a banged up table in the center with a lantern on a corner and several papers littering the wooden surface. The hunched figure staring at her from behind the table seized her attention before she could see what was on the parchments.

"Escaped again?" Heng asked nonchalantly, his dark eyes narrowing. The light casted eerie shadows over his face, causing Zhen to shudder. "Somehow I'm not entirely surprised. You're a strong one, Zhen."

The cougar tore her eyes from him and looked at the papers on the desk a few feet in front of her. They had many lines, circles and other symbols and shapes on them. She was no expert, but they seemed like plans or maps for something.

Heng smiled sinisterly. "Yes, these are our plans. Our plans for destroying the Valley of Peace."

Zhen felt like the floor dropped out from under her as her eyes went wide and she gasped. "What?!"

He appeared pleased by her reaction. "You heard correctly." His face abruptly contorted with anger. "My son Cong lost _everything_ because of the Furious Five. We're taking our revenge by destroying everything that _they_ have and making them watch, making _them_ feel the utter horror and terror that we experienced!"

Zhen took a moment to regain her composure, though she was still shaken. "H-how can you do this?! You're no better than those bandits that destroyed my home!"

"Wrong!" he shouted. "This is vengeance, Zhen! I—"

"No!" Zhen took a step forward and unintentionally growled as a whirlwind of emotions zapped through her, anger, hurt and desolate anguish being at the forefront. "I can't—I _won't_ let you take everything from me! I can't lose it all again!" Tears stung her eyes and she breathed hard.

Heng seemed unfazed by her words. "I've been planning this attack with the Fuchou for years! It's utter perfection and cannot fail. I had hoped that you would've come to realize the truth, but you've been with the Furious Five for too long and your mind and judgement is clouded with their lies."

Zhen couldn't understand how he thought he was right. "What are you talking about? The Five and Po saved my life! They took me in when everyone else shunned me!" She tried to push down her boiling anger to no avail as her hands clutched into fists. "I can't let you hurt them! I won't!"

Heng's expression soured. "Then you will suffer with them."

He launched himself over the table with a shout at Zhen, who ducked in alarm and rolled out of the way as he landed where she'd been. He was now in front of the door, and Zhen had no way out other than through him.

He rushed at her, claws raised, and she instinctively jumped backward and bumped into the side wall. He slashed at her midsection and she dove out of the way, taking cover on the side of the table away from him.

 _Remember your training!_ she reminded herself, dodging another swipe of Heng's claws. Trying to regain her focus and shove her remaining shock away, she got into a fighting stance and kicked at the giant armadillo's side. He simply sidestepped her attack and rapidly retaliated with one of his own, catching the edge of her tunic as she jumped back and tearing it slightly.

Zhen suddenly realized how sharp his claws were and, getting an idea, jumped onto the table and stuck her tongue out at Heng. Angry, he slashed at her horizontally and she hopped over his claws, landing in the same spot. He repeated the movement and she did too. This time, however, she bent down as she landed and, when he attacked again, lifted the plans in front of his claws.

The paper rent in pieces as Heng's claws easily tore through it, his eyes widening in horror as he watched the shredded parchment drift to the floor.

"How dare you?!" he yelled, jumping and whipping around.

Zhen's triumph was short-lived and she didn't see his thick tail coming until it was too late. The air in her lungs was brutally forced out of her as he hit her with full force, slamming her off of the table and into the back wall. She landed on the floor hard and gasped for breath as she attempted to recover, but Heng was already on top of her. Despite being only a bit larger than her, he pinned her to the ground with his foot, surprising Zhen with his strength. She still couldn't catch enough breath and her face twisted with pain as he pushed her down, the claws on his foot digging into her shirt as he threatened to crush her.

"You're lucky I don't want you dead," he hissed. "You're going to go back into your cell with chains this time. Don't try anything, or else I won't be so merciful."

"Heng!" Zhao's deep voice suddenly cut through the air as the door burst open, the rhino panting from his apparent sprint. "We're under attack… by the Furious Five… and the Dragon Warrior!"

Heng's eyes widened. "What? How did they find us?"

"I don't… I don't know!" Heng finally recovered. "They're searching for Zhen. What do we do?"

Zhen struggled and tried to shove her attacker's foot off of her, but to no avail. Her claws didn't seem to do anything against his hard scales. It was painful to breathe and she was getting desperate.

The giant armadillo narrowed his eyes and smiled at the rhino. "Give them out of here and make sure they can't get back in."

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

"Yah!"

"Feel the thunder!"

The Kung Fu warriors shouted their battle cries as their attackers rushed at them, swinging their swords and hammers.

The warriors had tried Viper's sneaking idea, but hadn't gotten very far before they were found out and thus went with their backup plan; fight and find Zhen as quickly as possible.

Crane twisted in the confined space and seized the attacking wolf's Dao sword, redirecting it with a quick move and causing it to dig itself into the stone wall with its momentum. The gray wolf tried to pull it out, but Monkey knocked her aside before she could and sent her tumbling to the ground. She rolled back to her feet, but was soon impacted by a kicked rabbit and they both fell to the floor in a heap.

Tigress flipped over a swung hammer and landed on the weapon's hilt, yanking it from the claws of the white wolf and pinning it to the ground. The canine bandit angrily swiped at her opponent's head, but Tigress ducked and grabbed the wolf's arm as it passed and continued in one fluid motion, flinging the bandit overhead to land on her back.

Looking up, Tigress realized that all of the bandits here were now out of commission, except they hadn't encountered the rhino yet.

Returning her gaze to the white wolf getting up off the ground, Tigress growled threateningly, successfully gaining the bandit's alarmed attention.

"Where is Zhen?" the feline warrior questioned, her eyes narrowed.

The wolf glared at her, surprise gone. She opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the rhino who appeared from a side tunnel.

"Not here," he snorted.

Tigress glared at him. "Then where?"

His hand disappeared into his black cloak, causing the warriors to tense. "Allow me to show you."

Abruptly all of the bandits jumped to their feet and scrambled to get behind the rhino as he revealed a stick of dynamite and lit the short fuse.

"Get back!" Tigress shouted as the hulking bandit skillfully threw the explosive in an arc at the roof of the tunnel.

The warriors sprinted back the way they came and were almost out of the passage when a deafening boom sounded, knocking them all off of their feet and raining dirt and small rocks down on their heads as the ground shook.

Despite the blinding dust and painful ringing in her ears, Tigress swiftly got to her feet and helped Po up as well while the ceiling began to crack and weaken. They ran together the rest of the way out of the lair, the shapes of their friends moving with them through the light-speckled dust.

They all burst out of the tunnel and, after getting a safe distance away, turned to watch the entire entrance collapse on itself, sending shrapnel in all directions with a tremendous noise.

The ringing slowly faded and Tigress' hearing returned, the sounds of her friends coughing filling her ears. She coughed as well to clear her lungs and quickly checked over her fellow warriors with her eyes, finding with relief that none of them appeared hurt.

"Is… is everyone okay?" Viper asked with a cough.

All of the warriors nodded in turn, looking at each other for confirmation of their wellbeing.

"Wow," Po commented. "That was an epic move!"

Tigress took a deep breath and narrowed her eyes at the remnants of the tunnel entrance with determination. "There must be another way in. We're going to find it and put an end to this."

* * *

 **Unfortunately, as I mentioned at the beginning of the chapter, I'm going to be taking a week break from uploading, which means that this story won't be updated until Monday, August 23rd. I'm doing this because life is getting crazy with my new job and school starting up soon and I need some time to renew my drive for writing. Thanks so much for bearing with me!**

 **Also, enormous thanks to my reviewers! You're all wonderful! =D**


	8. Breaking Through

**And we're back, with something a little different this chapter! This has been my favorite chapter to write so far. I'm changing the update days to Tuesday. Thank you all so much for bearing with me! Enjoy! =D**

* * *

Heng swung his heavy claws forward, catching large clumps of dirt and rock and tossing it behind him, where Chow and the rabbit twins packed it into a tight pile to be discarded later. The giant armadillo glanced next to him where the two wolf sisters and Drig the pangolin were helping him dig, while Zhao and Cong guarded their troublesome prisoner several tunnels away.

He'd had Yin chain Zhen to the wall to prevent her from trying to escape again. The meddling cat had already ruined his map of the Valley of Peace, though she hadn't destroyed the chart that really mattered to him. It was still a shame that they didn't have the former map anymore, but Heng knew that his plan would still work just fine without it.

He smiled slightly to himself as he thought of what he was plotting to do. The complete destruction of the Valley would come soon enough, and there was nothing that the Furious Five or Dragon Warrior could do to stop him, not that they even knew what the Fuchou were up to. Almost everything was now in place, and the bandits were set back only a little by the Kung Fu warriors' recent attack because they now had to dig out a new entrance.

A familiar anger boiled inside of him as he thought of the damage they'd caused. Though it was a small issue, it still irked him to no end that they'd somehow found the Fuchou and had managed to be the cause of the collapse of a few tunnels, thanks to the explosion's shockwaves. He visualized that he was digging his claws into the Five, exacting his revenge for the unparalleled pain that they'd caused so many animals, including his son Cong.

His eyes narrowed and he scowled at the dirt and mud he was digging through. The Furious Five would pay. If the destruction of the Valley didn't satisfy Heng and his bandits, then maybe the extermination of the Five themselves would.

* * *

Zhen yanked on the chain around her left ankle for what felt like the hundredth time. As it always did, the clasp held strong and she didn't get anywhere with it. The metal was hard and heavy, and she was certain that her ankle was getting chaffed every time she moved it. She sighed in defeat and sat on the ground, facing the bar door with her back leaning against the wall. She knew that she could unlock the clasp with her claw, but if she got caught she would surely be punished. Besides, there was no way she was going to escape now, so why bother trying when she would just be hurting herself more?

She stared dully at the stationary rhino that stood guard next to her cell. Zhao had complained of how boring it was to watch the little cougar, but Heng hadn't cared and assigned him to the job anyway. Zhen could also see Cong, who was uncharacteristically fidgety as he stood nearby with his ears twitching occasionally and his foot tapping slightly on the ground.

She blinked when he suddenly moved over to Zhao, getting the rhino's attention.

"Can I talk to her for a minute, alone?" Cong asked quietly, surprising Zhen. What could he possibly want to talk to her about?

Zhao snorted and lazily walked away. Once he was out of earshot, Cong sighed and sat in front of Zhen's cell. She stared at him expectantly, curious as to what he had to say despite still being mad at him.

"Zhen, I—" he started, but closed his mouth and stared at the ground for a moment.

Zhen couldn't tell what he was thinking about. His expression looked torn between sadness, anger and utter confusion.

"I don't know what to think!" he abruptly blurted, startling Zhen. "I-I just, I don't… I don't think that Heng is right anymore."

Zhen's eyes widened in surprise. Cong had been trying to convince her to join them and such all this time, and now he was telling her this?

"I need help, Zhen," Cong admitted humbly, tears brimming in his eyes. The broken look on his face was enough to dissolve Zhen's anger towards him completely.

"What makes you think I can help you?" she inquired honestly.

"Because you've never lied to me before," he answered. "A-and I never really wanted to hurt the Five, or the Valley, or especially you. Heng's always told me how it's always been their fault and that they have to pay for what they did, but what you've said has got me wondering if it was really their fault at all." He looked her in the eye and she could see his sincerity. "I don't want to be a bandit anymore."

Zhen stared at him for a moment, shocked and impressed by his words. He really wanted to change?

"Then don't," she finally stated, earning a surprised look from Cong.

"What? It's not that easy, Zhen." His expression turned to one of concern.

"I never said it was," she pointed out, taking courage. "What I'm saying is, you've got to stand up for yourself. That's something that my family has always told me: even when you're afraid, you've got to stand up and make a difference. The only way I see you getting out of doing these bad things is by talking to Heng and tell him the truth."

His eyes widened in alarm. "I can't talk to him! He'll get mad if I tell him how I feel!"

"Would you rather keep destroying others' lives?" Zhen asked bluntly. She hadn't quite meant to speak her mind in such a direct manner, but she'd said it and couldn't take it back. Fortunately, her words seemed to get through to Cong, who frowned in thought at her question.

"I… no, I don't," he finally replied with determination. "I don't want to hurt anyone anymore." He paused for a moment, giving Zhen a contemplative look. "… What are the Furious Five really like?"

She smiled, and for the next hour they talked like friends again, even making each other laugh a few times. They didn't see or hear any of the other bandits, even Zhao, and it seemed to them like nothing else mattered while they happily conversed with one another, unknowingly mending their broken friendship.

"I haven't had this much fun since we first became friends," Cong admitted, grinning. "I never knew I could learn so much from someone."

Zhen chuckled. "I'm just glad that you're my friend again."

His expression turned serious. "You know how sorry I am for what I did, right?"

She gave him a reassuring smile. "I know, and I forgive you."

He stared at her in shock. "Really?"

Zhen grinned. "Really."

Cong opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by a loud shout from far down the tunnel.

"Cong!" Yin appeared from around a corner. "Heng wants to speak to you. I'll watch the prisoner for you."

Cong casted a nervous glance at Zhen, conveying to her without words that he was going to try to talk to his adoptive father.

"Good luck," she whispered to him, giving him an encouraging smile. _I know you can do it._

He nodded slightly in thanks and turned, passing Yin on the way. The gray wolf glared at Zhen as soon as Cong couldn't see the canine's face anymore.

"I really wonder why Heng wants you to stick around," she growled. "You're of no use to us and you're obviously never going to be on our side. Plus, you're nothing but trouble for us. A distraction, especially to Cong."

Zhen crossed her arms, returning Yin's soured expression. "He probably values life, unlike you."

Yin let out a dark chuckle. "You think he values life? How can he when he's the one who came up with the plan to destroy the Valley of Peace and everyone in it?"

Zhen couldn't come up with an answer to that and decided to turn their conversation in a different direction. "What _is_ your plan, anyway? What are you going to do?"

"I've answered enough of your questions." She scowled. "Stop talking or I'll turn you into a pin cushion."

"Why do you hate me so much?" Zhen demanded. "I never did anything to you."

Yin's eyes narrowed and her arm suddenly jerked out towards the little cougar, sending a dagger her way with startling speed. Zhen jumped back in alarm and the projectile barely missed her head, cutting a few hairs from her ear and lodging itself shallowly into the rock wall behind her.

Adrenaline still rushing through her veins from the abrupt attack, Zhen tried to control her rapid breaths and stared at the bandit, watching her carefully for any more rapid movements.

"You're a thorn in my side that I'd rather remove," Yin snarled maliciously, stepping forward. "The rest of the Fuchou don't seem to realize that you're just weighing us down. I told them that it was a bad idea to have Cong pretend to befriend you to get your guard down. I warned them that you'd fill his head with lies. They didn't listen, and now Cong doesn't know where he's supposed to stand thanks to you. If I was in charge, this wouldn't have happened and our plan would already be executed. The Furious Five would already be overwhelmed with pain and suffering as we are, and we would be free to live our lives as we please!" She was breathing hard and clutching the bars of the cell door now, looking at Zhen with so much animosity that the young cougar couldn't stop a fearful shudder.

Silence filled the air for several moments as they both regained their composures. Yin released the bars and stood off to the side of the cell, far enough that Zhen could only see part of her left shoulder. The mountain cat slowly relaxed, and something Yin had said started to bug her.

"Why can't you live the way you want to now?" she asked timidly, watching for the wolf's reaction.

Yin visibly stiffened, and Zhen prepared to dodge another knife attack. It never came, however, and a full minute passed without either animal moving or making a sound. Finally, Yin spoke, her voice low.

"Anger is… consuming, if not mended quickly." The canine's voice was filled with dulled emotion, surprising Zhen. "If you fall too far, you can't get back up, no matter how hard you try."

Zhen stared at Yin, who was still tense and almost completely out of sight. Feeling a bit nervous at how the gray wolf could react, she turned and grabbed the dagger that was still stuck in the wall. She carefully and quietly pulled it out with a swift yank and walked up to the door, where she could see part of the gray wolf's guarded expression. Sticking her arm through the bars, the cougar passively held out the weapon to Yin.

"With everything my first and second families have taught me and through my own experiences, I've learned that you can never fall too far," Zhen stated with conviction, getting Yin to look at her. "There is _always_ a way to get back up. Sometimes you just have to look harder to find it." She offered Yin a smile of encouragement.

Yin blinked and stared at her for a moment before taking the knife out of the cougar's hand and turning away again. Zhen retracted her arm back into her cell and took a step back, smiling to herself. There was definitely more to Yin than what she'd first thought, but maybe she could somehow get through to the jaded canine. Maybe, deep down, Yin wasn't really an enemy after all.

* * *

"Quickly!"

"I'm going as fast as I can!"

"Do not look down!"

"AAAH!"

"I told you to not look down!"

"You're not helping!"

"…"

"I'm scared!"

"Don't worry; you're hardly twenty feet off the ground!"

"… That doesn't make me feel better!"

"Just keep going!"

Po took a deep breath before stretching himself to reach the next thick branch. He tried to focus on the trembling bunny several feet away instead of the dizzying height he was at. Now that he thought about it, griping about how high up he was probably wasn't helping the frightened, young bunny very much as she clutched onto the branch of the tree she'd climbed up. He couldn't figure out why the kid had thought climbing a tree that hung over half of the mountain was a good idea, and he also wasn't sure why he'd listened to Monkey, who had convinced him to save the bunny instead of himself. Po thought that Monkey was just trying to be lazy, but he insisted that Po needed the climbing experience.

The panda was now almost within reach of the little brown bunny. He accidentally glanced down at Monkey again and felt his stomach twist in knots as he quickly snapped his head back up to look at the kid in front of him.

"Come here," Po coaxed, reaching a hand out to the child. "It's okay."

The little girl looked at Po's large hand and shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut again and holding the branch tighter.

"I'm here to help you get down! Don't you want to go back to your mom and dad?" Po inched forward and gave the bunny a friendly smile when she dared to look at him again.

Still shaking in fright, she tentatively reached out and touched his hand as though making sure he was really there. Once she did, she lunged toward him and grabbed onto his fingers, grasping them so hard that they started to hurt slightly.

Po immediately pulled her to him, holding her close as she trembled in his arms. Slowly and gently, he crawled backwards until he was close enough to the trunk of the tree to turn around, where Monkey was already waiting.

"I can take her," Monkey suggested, reaching out with his long arms.

Po gladly handed the kid to him before returning his attention to climbing down the tall tree. By the time he was at the bottom, Monkey had already descended the steep hill and given the bunny to her worried parents.

"Oh, thank you, thank you!" they cooed, cradling their now-happy child in their arms.

The sight was so welcome and filled Po with a peaceful warmth. This was what he and his friends really needed; a little break from all the stress that the Fuchou had put them under and the constant searches. The warriors had all split up into groups of two once they'd gotten various reports of animals in trouble, whether it was because of an ambush by crocodile bandits or saving a little one from a tree.

Sure, it wasn't much, but it was the least they could do right now and Po knew that they were making a difference, no matter how small it was.

* * *

"Father, you wanted to speak with me?" Cong asked timidly as he entered Heng's room.

"Yes, Cong." The giant armadillo gestured for the fox to come to him.

Cong walked up to the table his father was standing in front of. He could see some new marks on Heng's map of the underground tunnels and immediately guessed what he was going to say, sending a sinking feeling to the pit of his stomach.

"We can't afford to wait any longer," Heng began. He tapped a claw on a drawn circle towards the middle of a particularly large tunnel. "With our new exit tunnel complete, we can now move forward with the last few placements. I've planned them to be around here, because the shockwaves should cause a chain reaction as they destabilize the buildings above it. Then they should hopefully hit other structures as they fall, and we can thus make more destruction with the fewer resources we have."

"Dad, this is wrong," Cong spoke suddenly, gaining his father's attention. Butterflies raced through his stomach as he thought about what he was about to say and how his father would likely react.

"What is, son?" the armadillo asked, looking up from the chart.

"Revenge. It isn't sweet like you said it would be. This just doesn't feel right." Cong watched in trepidation for his father's reaction.

Heng's expression turned surprised and then guarded. Only after a few moments of silence did he finally respond, his voice dangerously low. "What we're doing, Cong, will fill a hole that has been void for far too long. You remember the destruction, the carnage..." He stared blankly down at the map as he spoke, lost in a dark memory. "None of it would have happened if the Furious Five had done their job. They claim to save, to restore... but to us they just let the heavy waves of death and destruction tear us apart."

Cong stared at his father, almost afraid at the fierce, angry passion that appeared in the armadillo's eyes. He had seldom seen him like this before.

"What we're doing," Heng continued, finally looking back at Cong, "will fill the hole that they brutally dug with the very dirt they now stand on. They will finally come to know what it feels like to lose everything that they care about. I thought you understood that."

Cong blinked and looked at the animal he called 'father.' His mind raced as he thought of everything Zhen had taught him about the true beauty of the world, and suddenly realized that Heng's eyes were shut to that beauty. Slowly, he opened his mouth and spoke. "If destruction is what took everything from you... then how can more destruction bring it back?"

Heng opened his mouth to speak, but stopped, looking somewhat startled at his son's simple yet profound words. He broke eye contact with Cong and looked back down at the chart.

"... I... I need some time alone," he finally said. "I need to finish planning our next course of action."

Cong bowed solemnly. "Yes, father."

Giving Heng one last look, the fox turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him as he left.

The armadillo waited until he heard Cong leave before dropping his facade and leaning forward heavily, his face in his hands and his elbows on the table. He stared at the map through his claws as he thought of his son's words. Cong should have felt the same way he did. After all, he was the one that was truly stripped of everything he'd loved and had. Heng had lost so much as well through similar events, but not to the extent of his son. So why didn't the fox want revenge anymore?

His brow furrowed in deep thought. Had Cong ever really wanted revenge? He'd never actually voiced his desire for vengeance or showed much lasting anger towards the Furious Five without Heng's prodding. In fact, the giant armadillo couldn't think of a time when Cong had ever expressed wanting revenge on the Kung Fu Warriors. Had Heng imagined his son's anger and hurt this whole time, his judgement being clouded by his own pride and hurt feelings?

For the first time in many years, Heng thought about his life and whether anything he'd done had actually made him feel any better about what he had lost or not. The more he contemplated it, the emptier he felt.

Finally realizing his terrible mistakes, he slid off the table, collapsed to his hands and knees, and sobbed.


End file.
